NASA/JPL to send rotocraft drone "Dragonfly" to Titan

[gary]

AFP is reporting (https://phys.org/news/2019-06-nasa-drone-titan-life.html) that NASA will send a rotorcraft drone to Titan which will
search for the building blocks of life.

The mission is named "Dragonfly" and will launch in 2026 and land in 2034.



Story, pictures, animations here :-
https://phys.org/news/2019-06-nasa-drone-titan-life.html

NASA JPL Dragonfly web site :-
http://dragonfly.jhuapl.edu/

[cannon_gray]

The maximum speed that the drone can reach is 18 km/h. From a single charge, a dragonfly flies for a maximum of 8 minutes, and it takes 12 minutes to charge it. Apparatus of this type has never been used outside the Earth. Scientists hope the dense atmosphere and low gravity will allow Dragonfly to travel long distances and sample from dozens of points on Titan's icy surface.