Dragonfly is NASA's 4th New Frontiers program mission that will send a robotic rotorcraft to fly within the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan to sample materials and determine surface composition in different geologic settings, advancing humanity's search for the building blocks of life. The craft is a large quadcopter with double rotors with mass of about 875 kg, featuring rotors of 1.35 m in diameter. It can fly through several kilometers within an hour and will perform 1 flight per Titan day (~16 Earth days). During the planned 3.3-year mission, Dragonfly is expected to cover distance up to several hundred km. Dragonfly will use a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) to power its instruments. The planned science instrument suite is: * DragonCam: Camera Suite * DrACO: Drill for Acquisition of Complex Organics * DraMS: Mass Spectrometer * DraGNS: Gamma-ray and Neutron Spectrometer * DraGMet: Geophysics and Meteorology
Heliocentric N/AExoMars 2028 is a second mission of two-part European Space Agency astrobiology project to search for evidence of life on Mars. The primary objective is to land the rover at a site with high potential for finding well-preserved organic material, particularly from the very early history of the planet. The rover is expected to travel several kilometers during its mission. The European rover will be the first mission to combine the capability to move across the surface and to study Mars at depth. It will collect samples with a drill down to a depth of 2 m and analyze them with next-generation instruments in an onboard laboratory. Underground samples are more likely to include biomarkers, since the tenuous martian atmosphere offers little protection from radiation and photochemistry at the surface.
Heliocentric N/AThe Lunar Polar Exploration mission (LUPEX) is a robotic lunar mission jointly developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), deploying a lunar rover and lander to explore the south pole region of the Moon. JAXA will provide the under-development H3 launch vehicle and the rover, while ISRO would be responsible for the lander.
Lunar OrbitDESTINY+ (Demonstration and Experiment of Space Technology for INterplanetary voYage with Phaethon fLyby and dUst Science) is a planned asteroid exploration mission to 3200 Phaethon, the parent body of the Geminids meteor shower. It will demonstrate further improvements of low cost solar electric propulsion in deep space and innovative light-weight solar array panel technology. The spacecraft will carry 3 science instruments: * DESTINY Dust Analyzer (DDA) * Telescopic Camera for Phaethon (TCAP) * Multiband Camera for Phaethon (MCAP)
Asteroid