When NASA selected Dragonfly, the mission’s launch had already been shifted from a proposed 2025 date to 2026 to allow more time to address technical issues.
NASA delayed the launch of the Dragonfly mission to Titan from 2026 to 2027 due to budget challenges created by the coronavirus pandemic.
The prior shift of Dragonfly’s launch from 2025 to 2026 did not change the mission’s planned arrival at Titan in 2034 because of trajectory changes.
NASA selected the fourth New Frontiers mission, a spacecraft called Dragonfly that will fly from site to site on Saturn’s moon Titan, in June for launch in 2026.
The Mars 2020 rover mission and the Dragonfly mission to Titan are the only upcoming NASA missions formally approved for development that will use radioisotope thermoelectric generators.
Dragonfly will aim to fly to Selk Crater, which is about 80 kilometers in diameter, to investigate the potential ingredients for life.
Dragonfly has been selected as the next mission in NASA's New Frontiers line of medium-class planetary science missions.
Dragonfly is designed to fly approximately 175 kilometers across Titan over two and a half years.
Dragonfly will use a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) to generate electrical power, which will be stored in a battery for mission activities.
Dragonfly is scheduled for launch in 2026, with an arrival at Titan in 2034.
NASA has not yet selected a launch vehicle for Dragonfly, and launch costs are not included in the $850 million cost cap for the New Frontiers competition.
NASA associate administrator for science Thomas Zurbuchen stated that the original Dragonfly proposal identified about 10 significant risks in its design.
NASA’s New Frontiers program chose two finalists for the next mission in December 2017 for further study: Comet Astrobiology Exploration SAmple Return (CAESAR) and Dragonfly.
Dragonfly will utilize flybys of Venus and Earth post-launch to reach Titan.
Dragonfly's autonomous flight capability can be tested on Earth before the actual flight on Titan.
The Dragonfly spacecraft will touch down in dune fields in Titan’s equatorial regions.
Dragonfly is equipped with eight rotors and is the size of a Mars rover.
Dragonfly will utilize mature drone technology developed on Earth for its mission.
The launch date for Dragonfly has slipped from 2025 to 2026 to allow additional development time without affecting its arrival at Titan.
Lori Glaze stated that the team could greatly benefit from additional time to address challenges in Dragonfly's development.