NASA NTRS2018
Dragonfly is a proposed spacecraft and mission that would send a mobile robotic rotorcraft lander to Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, in order to study prebiotic chemistry and extraterrestrial habitability at various locations. Titan is unique in having an abundant, complex, and diverse carbon-rich chemistry on the surface of a water-ice-dominated world with an interior water ocean, making it a high priority target for astrobiology and origin of life studies. The mission was initially proposed in April 2017 to NASA's New Frontiers program by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. In December 2017, it was selected as one of two finalists (out of twelve proposals) to further refine the mission's concept. NASA Ames Research Center and NASA Langley Research Center are partnering as the leads for the Dragonfly's entry system to provide the completed EDL Assembly. The aerothermal analysis for Dragonfly utilizes four simulation tools from NASA Ames Research Center. Traj for calculating the trajectory, DPLR 4.04.0 for calculating the flowfield around the vehicle and convective heating, NEQAIR V15.0 for calculating the radiative heating, and FIAT for calculating the material response and thermal protection system (TPS) sizing for the heatshield. The entry conditions are relatively benign and can readily be accommodated with a tiled PICA heatshield similar to MSL and a number of flight proven materials for the backshell. This work will demonstrate that the aerothermal entry environments can be readily solved using heritage materials and techniques.