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posted by mrpg on Sunday May 07 2017, @06:18AM   Printer-friendly
from the invasion-not-like-in-the-movies dept.

With its dense and hydrocarbon-rich atmosphere, Titan has been a subject of interest for many decades. And with the success of the Cassini-Huygens mission, which began exploring Saturn and its system of moons back in 2004, there are many proposals on the table for follow-up missions that would explore the surface of Titan and its methane seas in greater depth.

The challenges that this presents have led to some rather novel ideas, ranging from balloons and landers to floating drones and submarines. But it is the proposal for a "Dragonfly" drone by researchers at NASA's JHUAPL that seems particularly adventurous. This eight-bladed drone would be capable of vertical-takeoff and landing (VTOL), enabling it to explore both the atmosphere and the surface of Titan in the coming decades.

The mission concept was proposed by a science team led by Elizabeth Turtle, a planetary scientist from NASA's Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL). Back in February, the concept was presented at the "Planetary Science Vision 2050 Workshop" – which took place at NASA's headquarters in Washington, DC – and again in late March at the 48th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in The Woodlands, Texas.

One advantage of flying in a methane atmosphere is you don't have to cart a lot of heavy fuel with you.


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  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday May 07 2017, @07:39AM (1 child)

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Sunday May 07 2017, @07:39AM (#505757) Homepage

    Yeah, those annoying Jew nigger bastards. Bastard Klezmer-Kikes and nasty nignogs.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 07 2017, @06:53PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 07 2017, @06:53PM (#505945)

    Are you okay? Do you need to talk about something?