Dragonfly Archives

These infrared-light images of Titan were taken by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope on 11 July 2023. They show methane clouds appearing at different altitudes in Titan’s northern hemisphere. On the left side is a representative-colour image (1.4 microns is coloured blue, 1.5 microns is green, and 2.0 microns is red: filters F140M, F150W, and F200W, respectively). In the middle is a single-wavelength image taken by Webb at 2.12 microns. This wavelength is predominantly emitted from Titan’s lower troposphere. The rightmost image shows emission at 1.64 microns, which favours higher altitudes, in Titan’s upper troposphere and stratosphere (an atmospheric layer above the troposphere). Larger image

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Saturn, Titan

Webb Telescope Studies The Weather On Titan – A Prime Astrobiology Target

by Keith CowingMay 14, 2025May 14, 2025

A science team has combined data from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope and the Keck II telescope to see evidence of cloud convection on Saturn’s moon Titan in the […]

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Dragonfly Astrobiology Mission Passes Critical Design Review

by Keith CowingApril 25, 2025April 25, 2025

NASA’s Dragonfly, the first rotorcraft designed for science exploration on another planet, has passed its Critical Design Review. The mission to Saturn’s icy moon Titan will investigate prebiotic chemical processes […]

This artist's concept of a lake at the north pole of Saturn's moon Titan illustrates raised rims and rampart-like features as seen by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Saturn, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Titan Could Harbor Life, But Only A Tiny Amount, Study Finds

by Keith CowingApril 8, 2025April 8, 2025

Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, is a strange, alien world. Covered in rivers and lakes of liquid methane, icy boulders and dunes of soot-like “sand,” its topography has long fascinated scientists […]

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Career Opportunities, Courses, Education and Outreach, Exploration Gear & Tech, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Titan

NASA’s Dragonfly Mission Student and Early Career Investigator Program

by Keith CowingMarch 12, 2025March 12, 2025

Have you dreamed of flying on another world? Have you imagined a desert world where the sand dunes are made of the building blocks of life, and it rains methane? […]

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

THUNDER: A Titan Orbiter Mission Concept for the New Frontiers Program Designed at the JPL Planetary Science Summer School

by Keith CowingMarch 4, 2025

Saturn’s moon Titan is an enigmatic icy world whose surface is constantly modified by its active, Earthlike precipitation system. Here, we propose the Titan’s Hydrocarbons: Uncovering New Dimensions of Evolutionary […]

Distribution of fluvial and lacustrine features on Titan. Most of Titan’s valley networks, lakes, and seas are concentrated at polar latitudes, though valley networks are comparably more globally distributed (Miller et al. 2021). Alluvial fans are primarily found at Titan’s mid-latitudes (Birch et al. 2016). At both poles, Titan’s largest lakes, seas, and paleoseas concentrate on the eastern hemisphere, while most of the smaller lakes are on the opposite hemisphere (Birch et al. 2017). The largest cluster of small lakes are in Titan’s ‘Lake District’, a region elevated above the seas by 100’s of meters. Major regions and features are labeled, along with approximated locations of the Huygens lander and the Dragonfly landing site at Selk Crater. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Saturn, Status Report, Titan

Titan’s Fluvial and Lacustrine Landscapes

by Keith CowingFebruary 5, 2025February 5, 2025

In this chapter we begin with a review of Titan’s fluvial and lacustrine landscapes as observed with Cassini remote sensing data, and what the many discoveries have revealed about Titan’s […]

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Saturn, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

How Titan Maintains Its Atmosphere

by Keith CowingJanuary 27, 2025January 27, 2025

Southwest Research Institute partnered with the Carnegie Institution for Science to perform laboratory experiments to better understand how Saturn’s moon Titan can maintain its unique nitrogen-rich atmosphere.

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Launch Services Contract Awarded For Dragonfly Astrobiology Mission

by Keith CowingNovember 26, 2024

NASA has selected SpaceX to provide launch services for the Dragonfly mission, a rotorcraft lander mission under NASA’s New Frontiers Program, designed to explore Saturn’s moon Titan. The mission will […]

Structure and parameters of Titan’s cavity -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Status Report, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Schumann Resonances As A Tool To Constrain The Depth Of Titan’s Buried Water Ocean

by Keith CowingAugust 1, 2024August 1, 2024

Among the lines of evidence for a buried ocean on Titan is the possible detection, in 2005, by the Permittivity, Wave and Altimetry (PWA) analyzer on board the ESA Huygens […]

Artist’s concept of Dragonfly soaring over the dunes of Saturn’s moon Titan. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Saturn, Titan

Dragonfly Rotorcraft Astrobiology Mission To Titan Confirmed

by Keith CowingApril 16, 2024April 16, 2024

NASA has confirmed its Dragonfly rotorcraft mission to Saturn’s organic-rich moon Titan. The decision allows the mission to progress to completion of final design, followed by the construction and testing […]