This Post Is Recently Updated on Oct 27, 2023 @ 7:34 am by TBB Desk
NASA is currently developing a nuclear-powered lander to explore Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, which has a dense atmosphere and low gravity. Before the Dragonfly rotorcraft lander takes flight on Titan, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, are conducting tests to ensure that their designs and models for the car-sized drone will function effectively in this unique environment.
The Dragonfly mission, NASA’s only mission to the surface of an ocean world, aims to investigate the complex chemistry that could be a precursor to life. The lander, built and operated by APL, will be equipped with cameras, sensors, and samplers to study areas on Titan that are known to contain organic materials. These materials may have come into contact with liquid water beneath the icy surface during Titan’s history.
To navigate the moon’s terrain, Dragonfly will rely on its four pairs of coaxial rotors, which slice through Titan’s dense and nitrogen-rich atmosphere. Over the past three years, the mission team has conducted four test campaigns at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
The team has utilized NASA Langley’s Subsonic Tunnel, measuring 14-by-22 feet, and the 16-foot Transonic Dynamics Tunnel (TDT) for their tests. The Subsonic Tunnel is used to validate computational fluid dynamics models and data obtained from integrated test platforms. These platforms consist of terrestrial drones equipped with flight electronics designed for Dragonfly. The TDT, with its variable-density heavy gas capabilities, is used to validate models under simulated Titan atmospheric conditions. The TDT tests include an aerodynamic stability test of the aeroshell used to deliver the lander and a test to model the aerodynamics of Dragonfly’s rotors.
Ken Hibbard, Dragonfly mission systems engineer at APL, explained that these tests contribute to the simulations and performance predictions for Dragonfly’s mission on Titan.
During their most recent trip to NASA Langley in June, the team conducted wind tunnel testing on a half-scale model of the lander to further refine their design and ensure its effectiveness in Titan’s environment.
