NASA plans to send a drone to Saturn's biggest moon, Titan, in the space agency's latest high-profile mission to explore the solar system for clues on humanity's origins.
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"Today I am proud to announce that our next New Frontiers mission, Dragonfly, will explore Saturn's largest moon, Titan," NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a video teleconference.
Dragonfly, a golf-cart sized drone with four propellers, will embark on an eight-year mission in 2026 to Titan, a moon orbiting Saturn that's known for its similarity to Earth's early characteristics.
The nuclear-powered Dragonfly will be the first drone lander with the capability to fly over 100 miles through Titan's thick atmosphere, Bridenstine said.
"Titan is unlike any other place in our solar system, and the most comparable to early Earth," he added.
Dragonfly's instruments will evaluate Titan's habitability and search for chemical signatures of past or even present life, the NASA official said.
Dragonfly is the fourth solar system exploration mission selected under NASA's New Frontiers program, a series of missions including the New Horizons probe launched in 2006 to study Pluto and OSIRIS-REx, which launched in 2016 to study the rocky asteroid Bennu.
Australian Associated Press
