Keystone
NASA has confirmed the Dragonfly mission, which will explore Titan, one of Saturn’s moons, thanks to a nuclear-powered aircraft.
The departure was postponed from what was initially planned from July 2027 to the same month of 2028, while the mission should reach its destination in 2034. The confirmation came despite the overall costs of Dragonfly having doubled compared to the time of its selection as a frontier mission , which took place in 2019: the current estimate foresees a cost for the project of approximately 3.35 billion dollars.
In its confirmation announcement, NASA attributed this increase to several factors, including replanning due to budget constraints, impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, current issues in the materials supply chain, and a thorough mission review . This high cost, together with increased pressures on the Agency’s budget, will also have implications for future programs: for example, the submission of new designs for border missions, scheduled for 2023, has been delayed to no earlier than 2026.
Despite this, NASA continues to support the mission. “Dragonfly is a spectacular science mission with broad community interest, and we are excited to take the next steps in this project,” says Nicola Fox, the Agency’s associate administrator for science. «The exploration of Titan – adds Fox – will push the boundaries of what we can do with rotary-wing aircraft outside the Earth». To allow Dragonfly to arrive on Saturn’s moon on time despite the delayed departure, NASA intends to use a heavy launcher, i.e. a space carrier capable of lifting loads between 20 and 50 tons.
SDA
