NASA awards SpaceX launch services contract for new mission to Titan

NASA has selected SpaceX to provide launch services for a new mission, a rotorcraft lander designed to explore Saturn's moon Titan.

The new mission, codenamed Dragonfly, will sample materials and determine surface composition in different geologic settings, advancing search for the building blocks of life, NASA said on Monday.

The contract, with a value of approximately $256.6 million, includes launch services and other mission related costs, according to NASA. The Dragonfly mission currently has a targeted launch period from July 5, 2028 to July 25, 2028 on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Dragonfly centers on novel approach to planetary exploration, employing a rotorcraft lander to travel between and sample diverse sites on Saturn's largest moon.

Dragonfly's scientific payload will characterize the habitability of Titan's environment, investigate the progression of prebiotic chemistry on Titan, where carbon-rich material and liquid water may have mixed for an extended period, and search for chemical indications of whether water-based or hydrocarbon-based life once existed on Saturn's moon, according to NASA.