Technicians at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Maryland have begun building and testing the nuclear-powered Dragonfly rotorcraft, which will launch toward the huge Saturn moon Titan in 2028.
"This milestone essentially marks the birth of our flight system," Elizabeth Turtle, Dragonfly principal investigator at APL, said in a NASA statement on Tuesday (March 10).
"Building a first-of-its kind vehicle to fly across another ocean world in our solar system pushes us to the edge of what's possible, but that's exactly why this stage is so exciting," Turtle added. "The team is doing an outstanding job, and every component we install and every test we run brings us one step closer to launching Dragonfly to Titan.
