On Monday, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that Ingenuity had succeeded in being the first powered fly on another planet. The space agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in southern California confirmed the news after scientists received data from the four-pound rotor craft at 6:46 p.m.
“Ingenuity is the latest in a long and deep tradition of NASA projects that have achieved a space exploration goal that was once thought impossible,” said acting NASA administrator Steve Jurczyk. “We do not know exactly where Ingenuity will lead us, but today’s results indicate that the sky – at least on Mars – may not be the limit.”
As Salon reported earlier, Ingenuity was designed as an experiment to see if it was possible to fly in the thin atmosphere of Mars.
The historic moment, the first powered flight in another world, will be followed this decade by an even more extensive motor flight in another world. Indeed, NASA plans to place a much larger rotorcraft, called Dragonfly, on Saturn’s large moon Titan in 2027.
Although Dragonfly and ingenuity are the same in the sense that they are both flying vessels in other worlds, their construction cannot be different. From the way they are driven to their sheer mass, comparing the two is like comparing an eagle with a mosquito compared to the scale.
What is the Dragonfly mission?
In 2027, Dragonfly will start from Earth and be an eight-year journey to Titan, the second largest moon in the solar system. As with perseverance on Mars, the purpose of this astrobiology mission is to advance our world’s understanding of the ‘building blocks of life’ and to search for signs of life on Titan, according to NASA.
Despite its distant distance from the sun, Saturn’s largest moon indeed has many peculiar properties that make it a candidate to be inhabited by life as we know it, whether in the past or present. Titan has clouds, rivers, lakes and rain above the icy surface – although it is not made of water, but of hydrocarbons such as ethane and methane. Titan is also the only moon in the solar system that is known to have a significant atmosphere. Like the Earth, it mostly consists of nitrogen.
“The visit to this mysterious ocean world could revolutionize what we know about life in the universe,” said former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine. “This leading mission might have been unthinkable even a few years ago, but we are now ready for Dragonfly’s amazing flight.”
The entire mission will cost about $ 1 billion.
What is the Dragonfly rotorcraft?
Dragonfly is a dual quadcopter – also known as an ‘octocopter’, for its eight blades that help it soar – designed to explore multiple flights on Titan. Each rotor is set to tolerate the loss of at least one rotor or motor. The rotorcraft powered by lithium batteries can move up to 22 miles per hour and climb to an altitude of about 13,000 feet. Every 16 Earth days (one Titan day) the rotorcraft jumps to its next location and remains charged using the radioactive power source – a much more reliable and compact power source than solar panels. Unlike Ingenuity, which weighed 4 kilograms and was powered by solar power, Dragonfly would weigh about 990 pounds and be packaged in a 12-foot diameter heat shield.
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It will also be much easier for Titan to fly than for Ingenuity. Titan has a dense atmosphere, about four times the density of the earth and low gravity, which makes it easier to fly. Ingenuity is designed to succeed in the thin atmosphere of Mars; Flying is a much easier task on Titan.
Dragonfly is expected to land in the dunes on the edge of a region of Titan known as Shangri-La. The rotorcraft will take samples from areas with interesting geography and then it will travel to the Selk impact crater, where there is previously evidence that liquid water exists.
What will Dragonfly study?
Scientists believe that Titan is similar to a very early Earth. Therefore, it can give us clues as to how life on earth began. Specifically, scientists hope to measure the composition of solid hydrocarbon material on the surface of Titan, which may show how probiotic chemistry has progressed in environments with important constituents for life.
Will it still set records on flights?
Yes. Ingenuity is now the first flight powered by another planet. And if Dragonfly succeeds, it will be the second rotorcraft to fly on a celestial body other than Earth. Cameras on the rotorcraft will also stream images during the flight, giving people on earth a view of the Saturn moon. And of course, almost half a ton, it will set a record for the most heavily powered vessels flown on another planet.
How long will it take?
Dragonfly will jump around Titan for at least two and a half years.