Dragonfly: A Rotorcraft Lander on Titan with Dr. Catherine Neish (University of Western Ontario)

On June 27, 2019, NASA announced its next New Frontiers mission: Dragonfly. This audacious mission will send a rotorcraft to explore Saturn’s largest moon Titan, and evaluate its potential for prebiotic chemistry and (possibly) extraterrestrial life. The Dragonfly mission will also give a countless high-resolution views of this strangely Earth-like moon, showing us how rivers and sand dunes form on an icy moon at 94K. In this presentation, Dr. Neish will provide a summary of the history of the Dragonfly mission, its scientific goals, and the next steps forward, from launch in 2027 to landing in the mid-2030s.