NASA has confirmed the transition to the final design and construction phase of the Dragonfly mission, whose objective is to explore Saturn’s moon Titan. With a budget of $3.35 billion, launch is scheduled for 2028.
The Dragonfly mission involves using a rotorcraft to study Saturn’s organic-rich moon Titan. This decision allows us to proceed to the completion of the final design, followed by the construction and testing of the entire spacecraft and scientific instruments.
“Dragonfly is a spectacular science mission that generates great interest in the science community, and we are excited to take the next steps on this mission,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Exploring Titan will push the limits of what we can do with rotorcraft outside of Earth.”
Updates on the development of the mission
As of early 2023, the mission has successfully passed all Preliminary Design Review evaluation criteria. However, at that time, the mission was asked to develop an updated budget and schedule to adapt to the current financial environment. This updated plan was submitted and conditionally approved in November 2023, pending the outcome of the fiscal year 2025 budget process. In the meantime, work on the final design and fabrication has been authorized to continue to ensure that the mission remained on track.
With the release of the President’s fiscal year 2025 budget request, Dragonfly was confirmed with a total cost of $3.35 billion and a launch date of July 2028. This reflects an increase in costs approximately double the proposed cost and a delay of more than two years compared to the original mission selection in 2019. After that selection, NASA had to direct the project to replan multiple times due to scheduling constraints financing in fiscal years 2020-2022. The project incurred additional costs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, increased supply chain costs, and the results of an in-depth design iteration. To make up for the delay in arrival at Titan, NASA also provided additional funding for a heavy launch vehicle to shorten the cruise phase of the mission.
Mission details and collaborations
The rotorcraft, expected to arrive on Titan in 2034, will fly to dozens of promising locations on the moon, searching for prebiotic chemical processes common on both Titan and early Earth before life developed. Dragonfly marks the first time NASA will fly a science vehicle on another planetary body. The aircraft has eight rotors and flies like a large drone.
Dragonfly is designed and built under the direction of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, which manages the mission for NASA. APL’s Elizabeth Turtle is the principal investigator. The team includes key partners at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado; NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California; NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia; Penn State University at State College, Pennsylvania; Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, California; Honeybee Robotics in Pasadena, California; NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California; the CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales) in Paris; the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne, Germany; and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) in Tokyo. Dragonfly is the fourth mission of NASA’s New Frontiers Program, managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
