Send your name to Saturn's moon Titan aboard NASA's Dragonfly
NASA invites the public to send their names aboard its Dragonfly mission to Titan, etching them on a microchip that will accompany the rotorcraft and awarding participants a personalized digital boarding pass. Sign-ups via my.nasa.gov close January 15, 2027, offering a chance to join what is framed as a lifetime journey. Dragonfly, launching in 2028, will trek nearly a billion miles to Saturn’s moon to explore diverse terrains and hunt for signs of prebiotic chemistry. The mission aims to characterize Titan’s habitability and potential chemical precursors to life, with arrival planned for late 2034 and a 3.3-year operational window. Public participation blends citizen engagement with cutting-edge astrobiology exploration and future findings about life’s origins.
Dive Deeper:
Names submitted through NASA’s website will be etched onto a microchip aboard Dragonfly, plus participants receive a digital boarding pass commemorating their virtual trip.
Sign-ups close on January 15, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. EST, enabling a spot on the passenger list for this rotorcraft mission.
Dragonfly is NASA’s first-of-its-kind rotorcraft science mission, designed to fly across Titan’s surface to collect samples with a suite of instruments while traversing multiple sites.
Titan is described as a world with a thick atmosphere, methane liquids, dunes, and organic-rich landscapes that could host prebiotic chemistry.
The mission trajectory covers a nearly billion-mile journey to Titan, with flights occurring roughly every 1–2 Titan days, where a Titan day (Tsol) lasts about 16 Earth days.
Dragonfly is being assembled at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, under NASA oversight.
The science goals include assessing habitability, advancing understanding of prebiotic chemistry, identifying astrobiological compounds, and seeking indicators of water- or hydrocarbon-based life.