On Monday, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that the ingenuity managed to be the first motor-controlled flight on another planet. The Southern California Space Agency’s jet propulsion laboratory confirmed the news after scientists received data from the four-kilogram rotorcraft at 6:46 a.m. East Coast time.
“Ingeniousness is the latest long and historic tradition of NASA projects achieving a space exploration goal once thought impossible,” said Steve Jurczyk, NASA’s acting administrator. “We don’t know exactly where our ingenuity will lead us, but today’s results indicate that the sky – at least on Mars – may not be the limit.”
As the Salon previously reported, Ingeniousness was designed as an experiment to see if it was possible to fly in the thin atmosphere of Mars.
The historic moment, the first motor flight to another world, will be followed in this decade by an even more elaborate motor flight to another world. Indeed, NASA intends to put a much larger rotation, called Dragonfly, on the big moon of Saturn, Titan, in 2027.
Although both Dragonfly and ingenuity are similar in the sense that both are flying boats on other worlds, their construction could not be more different. From the way they are fed to their pure mass, comparing the two is like comparing an eagle with a fly in terms of scale.
What is the Dragonfly mission?
In 2027, Dragonfly will launch from Earth and launch into what will be an eight-year journey to Titan, the second largest moon in the solar system. As with Perseverance on Mars, the goal of this astrobiology mission is to advance our world’s understanding of the “basics of life” and look for signs of life on Titan, according to NASA.
Indeed, despite its distance from the sun, Saturn’s largest moon has a lot of special properties that make it a candidate to be habitable by life as we know it, either in the past or in the present. Titan has clouds, rivers, lakes and rain above its frozen surface – although they are not made of water, but of hydrocarbons such as ethane and methane. Titan is also the only moon in the solar system known to have a substantial atmosphere. Like the Earth, it is mostly made up of nitrogen.
“Visiting this mysterious ocean world could revolutionize what we know about life in the universe,” said former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine. “This last-minute mission would have been inconceivable just a few years ago, but now we are ready for the amazing Dragonfly flight.”
The entire mission will cost about $ 1 billion.
What is Dragonfly rotorcraft?
Dragonfly is a dual quadcopter – also known as the “octocopter” for the eight blades that help it move – which is designed to explore multiple locations on Titan in flight. Each rotor will be configured to tolerate the loss of at least one rotor or motor. The lithium-battery rotor engine will be able to travel up to 22 miles per hour and climb to an altitude of about 13,000 feet. Every 16 days on Earth (a Titan day), the rotorcraft will jump to the next location and remain charged using its radioactive energy source – a much more reliable and compact energy source than solar panels. Unlike the ingenuity, which was four kilograms and is powered by solar energy, Dragonfly will weigh about 990 kilograms and packed in a 12-foot heat shield.
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It will also be much easier for Titan to take flight than for ingenuity. Titanium has a dense atmosphere, about four times the density of the Earth and a low weight – facilitating flight. Ingeniousness was designed to succeed in the thin atmosphere of Mars; flying is a much easier task for Titan.
Dragonfly is expected to land in the dunes, on the edge of a region of Titan, known as Shangri-La. Rotorcraft will take samples from areas with interesting geography and then travel to the Selk impact crater, where there is evidence of previously existing liquid water.
What will Dragonfly study?
Scientists believe that Titan is similar to a very early Earth. Therefore, he may be able to give us clues as to how life began on Earth. Specifically, scientists hope to measure the composition of hydrocarbon solids on Titan’s surface, which could reveal how probiotic chemistry has advanced in environments with key ingredients known for life.
Will he still set in-flight records?
Yes. Ingenuity is now the first motorized controlled flight to take place on another planet. And if Dragonfly succeeds, it will be the second rotation to fly on a celestial body other than Earth. The rotorcraft cameras will also transmit in-flight images, giving people on Earth a view of Saturn. And, of course, at almost half a ton, it will set a record for the heaviest motor-controlled boats flying to another planet.
How long will this take?
Dragonfly will jump around Titan for at least two and a half years.