Rolling boulders on Titan could threaten NASA’s Dragonfly mission
An artist’s impression of the Dragonfly rotorcraft on the surface of Titan
NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben
NASA’s Dragonfly mission is due to land on Titan in 2034, giving us an unprecedented look at Saturn’s largest moon – but it may also have to dodge wind-driven rolling boulders.
The mission, which will launch in 2028, includes a “rotorcraft” that will explore the moon from the skies. We have had only one up-close glimpse at Titan, thanks to the Cassini orbiter and Huygens probe, which reached the surface in 2005. That mission revealed fields of rounded boulders as well as radar-bright…
