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Titan

Saturn's largest moon and the second-largest in the Solar System. Titan is unique for its dense nitrogen-rich atmosphere and the presence of liquid hydrocarbon lakes and rivers on its surface.

Source: science.nasa.gov

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Robotic Dragonfly Selected to Fly Across Titan

03/07/2019

Video Credit: NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

If you could fly across Titan, what would you see? To find out and to better explore this exotic moon of Saturn, NASA recently green-lighted Dragonfly, a mission to Titan with plans to deploy a helicopter-like drone. Saturn's moon Titan is one of the largest moons in the Solar System and the only moon known to have a thick atmosphere and changing hydrocarbon lakes. After development, building, testing, and launch, Dragonfly is currently scheduled to reach Titan in 2034. The featured animated video envisions Dragonfly arriving at Titan, beginning its airborne exploration, landing to establishing a radio link back to Earth, and then continuing on to another trans-Titanian flight. It is hoped that Dragonfly will not only help humanity better understanding Titan's weather, chemistry, and changing landscape, but also bolster humanity's understanding of how life first developed on our young Earth. Astrophysicists: Browse 1,900+ codes in the Astrophysics Source Code Library