NASA announced on November 25, 2024, the selection of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket to launch the Dragonfly mission, a $3.35 billion endeavor aimed at exploring the potential for life on Saturn's largest moon, Titan. The Falcon Heavy has previously launched NASA missions including the Psyche asteroid probe and the Europa Clipper spacecraft.
The Dragonfly helicopter, comparable in size to a car, is scheduled for launch over a three-week period in July 2028. Following its launch, it will take six years to reach Titan, the second-largest moon in the solar system.
Titan is notable not only for its size but also for its surface features, which include lakes and seas of hydrocarbons, making it the only known celestial body outside Earth with stable liquids on its surface. Furthermore, organic compounds essential for life as we know it are prevalent there.
Scientists hypothesize that Titan may support life, potentially in its alien surface or in a hypothesized subsurface ocean of liquid water. Dragonfly is designed to investigate these possibilities and provide insights into this relatively unexplored world.
According to NASA, the scientific payload of Dragonfly will characterize Titan's habitability, explore the progression of prebiotic chemistry, and seek chemical signatures indicating whether water- or hydrocarbon-based life ever existed on the moon.
The nuclear-powered helicopter is expected to operate for about 2.5 Earth years on Titan's surface, flying to various locations to conduct in-depth observations of diverse landscapes.
Despite facing delays and cost increases during its development, Dragonfly has made significant progress and remains on track for its 2028 launch, as confirmed by NASA earlier this year. Originally selected in 2019, the mission's cost was estimated at $1 billion with a launch date set for 2027.
Falcon Heavy, currently the second most powerful rocket in operation after NASA's Space Launch System, has completed 11 launches to date, with the most recent mission sending the Europa Clipper to Jupiter's oceanic moon on October 14, 2024.