An artist's conception of NASA's Dragonfly lander (Credit: NASA/ Public Domain)

NASA is preparing to launch one of its most exciting missions yet. In 2028, the Dragonfly lander will embark on a journey to Titan, Saturn's largest moon. The primary objective of this $3.35 billion mission is to find evidence of early life.

Titan is particularly interesting to scientists because it is the only other world in our Solar System known to have liquid. The moon's lakes, rivers, and seas are thought to be filled with liquid methane and ethane. Both compounds can be found on Earth. Researchers also suspect that Titan has ice volcanoes that emit water vapor into the atmosphere. These volcanoes may provide conditions suitable for life.

“Titan is unlike any other place in the Solar System, and Dragonfly is like no other mission,” says NASA's Thomas Zurbuchen.

Titan's lakes are believed to be filled with liquid ethane and methane (Credit: NASA/Public Domain)

The lander is being designed and built by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland. If all goes according to plan, the spacecraft will launch from Earth in 2028 and land on Titan's surface in 2034.

Dragonfly's unique design allows it to function as both a drone and a lander. This will enable the spacecraft to explore Titan's various environments, from dunes to craters. Dragonfly will make short hops of up to five miles (8 km) across Titan's surface every 16 Earth days. During its 32-month mission, it will cover a total distance of about 108 miles (174 km). This is nearly twice the distance traveled to date by all the Mars rovers combined!

NASA graphic showing Dragonfly arriving on Saturn's moon, Titan, and flying in its atmosphere (Credit: NASA/ Public Domain)

The lander will be equipped with a suite of scientific instruments. They will sample and measure the composition of Titan's organic materials, which could indicate signs of life. The instruments will also monitor the moon's atmospheric and surface conditions. Due to Titan's limited sunlight, Dragonfly will be powered by nuclear energy.

“Dragonfly will visit a world filled with a wide variety of organic compounds, which are the building blocks of life and could teach us about the origin of life itself,” says Dr. Zurbuchen.

Resources: NASA.gov, Wikipedia.com, Planetary.org