This dragonfly vehicle may one day soar through the skies of Titan, Saturn's moon

NASA is gearing up to explore Saturn's moon Titan to further humanity's quest for the components of life in the cosmos. Recently, researchers at Langley and from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) tested a key component of the Dragonfly vehicle that will explore Titan at the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel (TDT) at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

Dragonfly is planned to launch in 2027 and arrive at Titan in 2034, beginning a 3-year mission to investigate the intricate chemistry of the peculiar moon and ocean world. The spacecraft, resembling a drone, will fly through Titan's dense, nitrogen-rich atmosphere, then land on, sample and examine various sites.

Dragonfly will be equipped with four sets of dual rotors arranged in a coaxial configuration, with one rotor positioned above the other. During the recent testing, researchers conducted a number of tests on a coaxial pair of rotors. They simulated anticipated conditions for hovering, descending and ascending, and evaluated the aerodynamic forces on each rotor at different wind speeds, rotor shaft angles and rotor throttle settings. Additionally, they conducted tests with one rotor running and the other stationary to analyze potential failure modes.

"The testing at this one-of-a-kind facility was a crucial early step toward bringing this exciting mission to fruition. The data we collected at the TDT will give us a much clearer picture of how we can expect Dragonfly's rotors to perform in Titan's alien atmosphere," said Richard Heisler, wind tunnel test lead for Dragonfly at APL, which is designing and building the rotorcraft and manages the mission for NASA.

This may one day fly in the atmosphere of Titan! 🚁A key component of the 8-rotor Dragonfly vehicle that will make that journey to Titan recently underwent testing at the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel at @NASA_Langley.Learn more HERE>> https://t.co/56NwcgoJxl

— NASA Marshall (@NASA_Marshall) December 21, 2022