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DRAGONFLY STUDENT & EARLY CAREER INVESTIGATOR

DRAGONFLY STUDENT & EARLY CAREER INVESTIGATOR PROGRAM - 2 Year Program


  • Have you dreamed of flying on another world?
  • Have you imagined a desert world where the sand dunes are made of the building blocks of life, and it rains methane?
  • Are you prepared to be a part of a journey to the most Earth-like and yet alien world in the solar system?
This world is Saturn's moon, Titan, and Dragonfly, the mission headed to it, seeks Student & Early Career Investigators.

Titan is the only moon in our solar system with a dense atmosphere, which supports an Earth-like hydrological cycle of methane clouds, rain, lakes and seas. Complex organic surface materials preserve, in a deep freeze, the types of organic chemicals that were present on Earth before life developed. Titan's icy crust floats atop an interior liquid water ocean. Dragonfly is a rotorcraft lander (an octocopter) that will explore a variety of locations on Titan. Launching in 2026 and reaching Titan in 2034, Dragonfly will journey farther than any robotic lander has ever traveled. With one hop every other Titan day (16 Earth days), the rotorcraft will travel from its initial landing site to cover areas several dozen kilometers away during the planned ~3-year mission.
Student Investigators will work with Dragonfly mission team members to conduct Titan research, help formulate Dragonfly mission science and operations plans, or assist in the development of instrumentation, hardware, or testing.
A cohort of up to three (3) qualified graduate students from U.S. colleges and universities will be selected annually for two-year terms to work with the Dragonfly team. Students will dedicate 30% of their time (concentrated during academic breaks) at APL and/or their Dragonfly mentor's home institution and will receive annual funding for travel to Dragonfly team meetings and to publish and present results at a scientific conference. Faculty mentors at each students' home institutions will be granted travel support to attend the annual Dragonfly Student & Early Career Investigator Program kickoff meeting. A partial list of available research projects can be found at right.

Work remotely while also traveling onsite or to a client site.

Eligibility:
  • Eligible students must be pursuing a master's or doctoral degree in the physical sciences, computer sciences, or engineering at a U.S. institution
  • Demonstrated ability to conduct independent research or development
  • Excellent organizational and communication skills (written and oral)
  • Identify a mentor on the Dragonfly team (see options when you click on the external application to apply) - Include in Cover Letter
  • Also identify a faculty member at your home institution who can serve as a faculty mentor for the 2-year duration of your participation in the program. - Include in Cover Letter
  • GPA 3.0/equivalent
  • US Citizenship