NASA awarded SpaceX a firm-fixed-price contract valued at approximately $256.6 million for the Dragonfly mission, which includes launch services and other mission-related costs, a

NASA has picked SpaceX to launch its Dragonfly astrobiology mission to the intriguing Saturn moon Titan. A Falcon Heavy will loft Dragonfly in July 2028.

The mission, managed by NASA’s Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, is expected to reach Titan in 2034. Over its initial three-year mission, Dragonfly will conduct multiple flights to various geological sites, providing unprecedented insights into the moon’s chemical processes and potential for exotic life forms.

The space agency announced a $256.6 million contract with SpaceX to support the launch of the Dragonfly mission – a rotorcraft lander mission under NASA's New Frontiers Program, which funds a series of medium-class spacecraft expeditions to explore the solar system. Dragonfly is the fourth mission in this program, and will cost about $3.35 billion.

NASA's Dragonfly mission, launching in 2028, aims to explore the habitability and organic chemistry of Saturn’s moon Titan using a novel rotorcraft lander. NASA has chosen SpaceX to handle the launch for its Dragonfly mission,