NASA commissions SpaceX with the Dragonfly mission to search for life on Saturn’s moon Titan

NASA has selected SpaceX for the launch into space of the Dragonfly mission, whose goal is a helicopter landing designed to explore Saturn’s moon Titan.

The mission will take samples of materials and determine the composition of the surface in different geological environments, with findings with which the space agency hopes to advance the search for the basic components of life.

The firm-fixed-price contract is worth approximately $256.6 million, which includes launch services and other mission-related costs.

FALCON HEAVY

The Dragonfly mission currently has a planned launch period of July 5-25, 2028 on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, according to a NASA statement.

Dragonfly focuses on a novel approach to planetary exploration, using a helicopter to travel between various sites and take samples on Saturn’s largest moon.

Dragonfly’s scientific payload will characterize the habitability of Titan’s environment will investigate the progression of prebiotic chemistry on Titan, where carbon-rich material and liquid water may have mixed over an extended period, and look for chemical clues to whether water- or hydrocarbon-based life once existed on Saturn’s moon .

Managed for NASA at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, the Dragonfly team is comprised of scientists, engineers, technologists, managers and more who have deep experience on missions that have explored the solar system from the Sun to Pluto. and beyond, as well as experts in helicopters, autonomous flight and space systems from around the world, according to NASA.