09 November 2026, 17:05
An Odessa-based company has joined NASA's mission to Saturn
Ця стаття також доступна українською
The Dragonfly mission concept. PHOTO: NASA
The name of the Odessa-based technology company BlueBird Tech and a reference to Ukraine are set to be sent to Saturn’s moon Titan as part of NASA’s Dragonfly research mission. They will be etched onto a special silicon microchip that will travel into space along with the spacecraft.
This was announced by BlueBird Tech.
The Dragonfly mission involves sending an eight-rotor robotic aircraft to Titan. It will explore the moon’s surface by flying through the air and collect samples for analysis.
Scientists are interested in whether chemical conditions similar to those that existed on early Earth before the emergence of life could have formed on Titan. Saturn’s moon has a dense atmosphere, and its surface features rivers, lakes, and seas of liquid methane and ethane.
“For BlueBird Tech, this is an opportunity to put our home country, Ukraine, on the international stage. It is symbolic for us to join this ambitious NASA scientific project, which will help humanity better understand the origins of the universe,” said Valery Zarubin, the company’s CEO.
The Dragonfly mission is scheduled to launch in July 2028 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The spacecraft is expected to reach Titan in December 2034.
The company reported that it has already received a symbolic boarding pass for participation in the interplanetary mission.
Dragonfly is a planned NASA mission to explore Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. It is the fourth mission in the New Frontiers program. The mission will use an eight-rotor robotic aircraft capable of vertical takeoff and landing. Its mission is to study prebiotic chemical compounds and search for possible signs of extraterrestrial life in various regions of Titan.
