In June 2027, NASA will introduce the long-awaited Dragonfly mission toward Saturns largest moon, Titan. By 2034, the 450 kg (990-lbs) nuclear-powered quadcopter will touch down at its target landing site (the Selk crater area) and begin searching Titans surface and environment to learn more about this curious satellite.
For years, researchers have actually speculated if life might exist on Titan because it appears to possess all the required ingredients (though not for life as we understand it). The outcome is a comprehensive map of the Dragonflys landing site, exposing a landscape of sand dunes and broken-up icy ground.
The research study was led by Léa Bonnefoy, a postdoctoral fellow with the Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science (CCAPS), the Carl Sagan Institute, and the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP). She was signed up with by multiple members from CCAPS and the IPGP, as well as scientists from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL), the Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS) at the University of Versailles, and the Institut Universitaire de France (IUF). The paper that explains their research study and findings recently appeared in The Planetary Science Journal.
Get rid of All Ads on Universe Today
Join our Patreon for as low as $3!
Get the ad-free experience for life
Further Reading: Cornell University, The Planetary Science Journal
Like this: Like Loading …
In June 2027, NASA will release the long-awaited Dragonfly objective towards Saturns biggest moon, Titan. Dragonfly will land in an equatorial, dry region of Titan– a freezing, thick-atmosphere, hydrocarbon world. On Christmas Day, 2004, the orbiter launched its partner objective– the Huygens lander– which began its descent into Titans thick atmosphere on January 14th. Dragonfly is going to lastly show us what the region– and Titan– looks like.”
Since Titans environment today is believed to be comparable to prehistoric Earth, the data acquired by Dragonfly could help researchers learn more about how life emerged on Earth.
Bonnefoy was part of the research group led by Alex Hayes, an associate professor of astronomy and the Director of the Spacecraft Planetary Image Facility, which focuses on identifying and characterizing potentially habitable environments throughout the Solar System. Their work has consisted of information from the Cassini orbiter, the Perseverance, Curiosity, Spirit, and Opportunity rovers, and the upcoming Europa Clipper objective. As Bonnefoy discussed in a recent Cornell Chronicle release, Dragonfly will be examining one of the most appealing environments to date:
” Dragonfly– the first flying maker for a world in the outer Solar System– is going to a clinically amazing area. Dragonfly will land in an equatorial, dry region of Titan– a freezing, thick-atmosphere, hydrocarbon world. “The radar images we have of Titan through Cassini have a best-resolution of about 300 meters per pixel, about the size of a football field and we have only seen less than 10% of the surface at that scale.
Throughout its lots of orbits of Saturn, the Cassini orbiter took multiple radar pictures of Titan and its numerous larger moons. On Christmas Day, 2004, the orbiter released its partner objective– the Huygens lander– which started its descent into Titans dense environment on January 14th. Throughout its two-hour descent, the lander gathered information on Titans atmosphere to determine what chemicals and aerosols exist (and in what amounts). It likewise returned photos of the surface that revealed river valleys not noticeable in the orbiters radar images.
For their research study, Bonnefoy and the group used radar reflectivity from the Cassini images and angled shadows to map 6 terrains in the Selk crater, defining the landscape and assessing the height of its rim. Understanding the craters shape will supply insight into the regions geology and aid objective planners determine scientific objectives for the Dragonfly mission. Titans abundant prebiotic environment consists of natural compounds in its atmosphere and on its surface area, where they look like sand and form dune-like features.
Titans dense environment, which is largely made up of nitrogen (around 95%), methane (~ 5%), and other hydrocarbons, has to do with 4 times as dense as Earths atmosphere. Integrated with Titans low gravity (13.8% that of Earth), this will enable Dragonfly to remain airborne and perform like a drone, researching Titans methane, environment, and surface lakes to discover more about the planets structure and its potential to support life. Said Bonnefoy:
” Over the next a number of years, we are visiting a great deal of attention paid to the Selk crater region. Leas work supplies a solid foundation upon which to begin building models and making forecasts for Dragonfly to evaluate when it checks out the area in the mid-2030s. Dragonfly is going to lastly reveal us what the area– and Titan– appears like.”
Considering that Titans environment today is believed to be comparable to primitive Earth, the information acquired by Dragonfly could assist scientists discover more about how life emerged on Earth. Theres likewise the prospect that life emerged on Titan and is still there today, more than likely in microbial form. The discovery and research study of these prospective lifeforms could shed light on how and where life emerged in the Solar System, not to mention how the building blocks may have been distributed billions of years ago (aka. lithopanspermia).
