蜻蜓号获选，将在土卫六翱翔

2019 July 3

蜻蜓号获选，将在土卫六翱翔
影片提供: NASA, Johns Hopkins U. Applied Physics Lab.

说明: 如果能在土卫六翱翔，你会看见什么？为了找出答案与探入探索土星这颗的怪异卫星，美国航天总署最近批准了”蜻蜓号”任务，未来将在土卫六布署一架酷似直升机的无人飞行器。土卫六是太阳系最大的卫星之一，也是唯一有厚重大气和多变碳氢化合物（烃）湖泊的卫星。接下来要经过开发、建造、测试和发射等阶段的蜻蜓号，目前预定在2034年抵达土卫六。这部主题动画影片，想象蜻蜓号抵达、进行飞行探索、降落建立无线电链接和地球通信、与再起飞进行另一个横越土卫六旅程的景象。蜻蜓号除了希望能协助人类深入了解土卫六的天气、化学、及变化莫定的地貌之外，也能增进对于生命如何在早期地球出现的了解。

Robotic Dragonfly Selected to Fly Across Titan
Video Credit: NASA, Johns Hopkins U. Applied Physics Lab.

Explanation: If you could fly across Titan, what would you see? To find out and to better explore this exotic moon of Saturn, NASA recently green-lighted Dragonfly, a mission to Titan with plans to deploy a helicopter-like drone. Saturn’s moon Titan is one of the largest moons in the Solar System and the only moon known to have a thick atmosphere and changing hydrocarbon lakes. After development, building, testing, and launch, Dragonfly is currently scheduled to reach Titan in 2034. The featured animated video envisions Dragonfly arriving at Titan, beginning its airborne exploration, landing to establishing a radio link back to Earth, and then continuing on to another trans-Titanian flight. It is hoped that Dragonfly will not only help humanity better understanding Titan’s weather, chemistry, and changing landscape, but also bolster humanity’s understanding of how life first developed on our young Earth.