Nasa has selected SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket to launch its groundbreaking “Dragonfly mission,” an ambitious project that will send a car-sized octocopter to explore Saturn’s largest moon, Titan.
Scheduled for liftoff between July 5 and July 25, 2028, from Launch Complex 39A at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Dragonfly will be carried to Titan aboard one of the world’s most powerful rockets. Nasa awarded SpaceX a firm-fixed-price contract of $256.6 million to cover the launch and associated expenses.
The $3.35 billion mission aims to investigate Titan’s habitability and search for the building blocks of life. Titan, with its thick atmosphere—about 1.5 times denser than Earth’s—and unique surface features, stands out as one of the most intriguing and mysterious moons in the solar system.
It is the only moon known to have a substantial atmosphere and liquid rivers, lakes, and seas on its surface, though these liquids are methane and ethane rather than water.
Dragonfly, a nuclear-powered rotorcraft lander, measures 3.85 meters long and weighs 875 kilograms. Its eight rotors will enable it to fly through Titan’s dense atmosphere, landing at various locations to collect and analyze samples. This innovative design makes Dragonfly the first rotorcraft capable of flying on another world.
Once it arrives in 2034, Dragonfly will explore diverse terrains, including icy plains and towering dunes, during its initial three-year mission. Equipped with cameras, navigation tools, and a LIDAR system for 3D mapping, the drone will operate largely autonomously due to the significant communication delay—radio signals take 90 minutes to travel between Earth and Titan.
Titan, often described as Earth-like in some ways, has a mostly nitrogen atmosphere, clouds, rain, and flowing liquids.
However, its ultra-cold surface temperatures of –179°C make its chemical processes unique. Scientists believe Titan’s subsurface water and hydrocarbon lakes could harbor exotic life forms, although it’s also possible the moon is lifeless.
