Testing is now underway on NASA’s Dragonfly rotorcraft, a nuclear-powered, car-sized aerial drone that will search for potential precursors to life on Saturn’s moon, Titan. However, before Dragonfly can take flight, NASA must ensure that it can withstand the moon’s unique environment.
Dragonfly’s primary objective is to study the complex chemistry on Titan in order to gain insights into the origins of life in our solar system. Equipped with cameras, sensors, and samplers, this vehicle will investigate areas of Titan known to contain organic materials, particularly regions where these materials may have encountered liquid water beneath the moon’s icy surface in the past.
The lander will navigate Titan’s nitrogen-rich atmosphere using four dual-coaxial rotors. To ensure the rotors can function in those conditions, the Dragonfly team has conducted extensive tests at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, including operating the rotors in a wind tunnel that replicates the atmospheric conditions on Saturn’s largest moon.
Related: NASA’s Titan Dragonfly will touch down on a field of dunes and shattered ice
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