NASA's got a new mission on the horizon.
Land an unmanned spacecraft on
Titan, Saturn's largest moon,
and explore the surface
for evidence of potential alien life.
The billion-dollar mission
will test NASA engineers
like never before,
because if you're going to explore Titan,
there's something you need to know.
Just like our own moon,
Titan orbits a planet,
but it actually looks and
behaves more like an Earth,
and that's why, for this mission,
NASA opted for a different
kind of spacecraft.
This is Dragonfly.
It's a nuclear-powered drone
that's the size of a large lawn mower.
Now if NASA is going to
send a space drone anywhere,
it's Titan, because, similar to Earth,
it has a thick atmosphere,
which can keep the drone aloft.
Dragonfly is built like a helicopter,
able to take short flights
in between landings.
It will run on what's called
a radioisotope thermoelectric
generator, or RTG.
The RTG runs on radioactive decay
from a reserve of plutonium-238,
which not only will power the spacecraft
for months on end, but
will also keep it warm.
You see, the average temperature on Titan
is minus 179 degrees Celsius,
cold enough to freeze
Dragonfly's circuits.
But a byproduct of
radioactive decay is heat,
which will protect the
fragile electronics on board,
which Dragonfly will be using
to study surface composition,
temperature, weather patterns,
and geological activity,
as well as look for
water, carbon compounds,
and other signs of potential life.
And NASA already has a good
idea of where to explore.
Back in the 2000s,
NASA's Cassini spacecraft
mapped entire sections of Titan's surface,
uncovering lakes of liquid methane
and possible ice volcanoes.
The ice volcanoes are of special interest,
because scientists think they could
launch underground water
to Titan's surface.
In fact, there's evidence to suggest
that Titan has a vast subterranean ocean
of liquid water about 80 kilometers down.
And if that water is mixed
with methane-based molecules
lurking in Titan's surface lakes,
there's a chance for life to form,
according to some experts.
And Dragonfly will have plenty
of time to test that notion.
If all goes according to plan,
Dragonfly will study Titan's surface
for at least 2 1/2 years
and is expected to travel
over 175 kilometers.
That's almost double the distance
covered by all the Mars rovers combined,
and whether it finds alien life or not,
there's plenty more science to discover.
For instance, Titan looks a lot like
how scientists think Earth
looked at a young age.
So, understanding Titan may help us
uncover secrets of our own planet.
What might we learn?
Well, there's only one way to find out.
NASA plans to launch
the spacecraft in 2026,
when it will begin its eight-year journey
through the solar system towards Titan.
So mark your calendars for 2034.
