NASA Dragonfly Student & Early Career Investigator Program 2026

Saturn’s moon 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 2028 and reaching Titan in 2034, Dragonfly will journey farther than any robotic lander has ever traveled. With one hop on average every other Titan day (one Titan day equals 16 Earth days), the rotorcraft will travel from its initial landing site to areas over 80 kilometers away during its planned 3.3-year mission.

Each student Investigator will work with one or more 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 two to four (2–4) qualified graduate students from U.S. colleges and universities is selected annually for two-year terms to work with the Dragonfly team. Students dedicate 30% of their time (concentrated during summer and 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. A faculty mentor at each student’s home institution will be granted travel support to attend the annual Dragonfly Student & Early Career Investigator Program kickoff meeting.

• Table of Content
• About NASA
• NASA Dragonfly Student & Early Career Investigator Program Training
• Aim and Benefits of NASA Dragonfly Student & Early Career Investigator Program Training
• Requirements for NASA Dragonfly Student & Early Career Investigator Program Training Qualification
• Documents Required for Application
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

NASA Dragonfly Student & Early Career Investigator Program Training

Aim and Benefits of NASA Dragonfly Student & Early Career Investigator Program Training

• Funding does not cover tuition or health insurance.
• The program covers 30% of the student’s time, i.e., 3.6 months per year, over the 2-year period (nominally equivalent to two back-to-back summer internships, distributed as appropriate over the 2-year period).
• Additional funds will cover yearly travel to Dragonfly mission team meetings, registration and travel to present research results at one relevant conference each year (if presenting at a virtual conference, funds will cover the registration fee), and roundtrip airfare, train fare or mileage between the student’s home institution and their Dragonfly mentor’s institution.

Requirements for NASA Dragonfly Student & Early Career Investigator Program Training Qualification

An intent of this program is to broaden mission participation; thus, it is intended for students who are not affiliated with, and whose faculty and/or research advisors are not involved with, Dragonfly or other spacecraft missions. Students who are majoring in broad STEM fields such as chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, engineering and computer science, and who do not have a background in planetary science, the geosciences, atmospheric science, or their associated subfields, are especially encouraged to apply. Additional requirements are:

• Eligible students must have at least a 3.0 GPA
• Eligible students must be U.S. citizens pursuing a master's or doctoral degree in the physical sciences, biological sciences, computer sciences, mathematics or engineering at a U.S. institution.
• Applicants must have demonstrated ability to conduct independent research or development
• Applicants must have excellent organizational and communication skills (written and oral)
• Applicants must identify a faculty member at their home institution who can serve as a faculty mentor for the 2-year duration of their participation in the program.

Documents Required for Application

When applying, the candidate should include in an attachment

1. a cover letter,
2. a curriculum vitae, CV,
3. the name and contact information for the prospective faculty advisor at their home institution, and
4. a 2-3 sentence statement from the prospective faculty advisor in which they agree to support the student, should they be selected to work on Dragonfly.

Check also:
Erasmus Mundus Scholarship 2027
Global Korea Scholarship 2027

Application Deadline

How to Apply

Having trouble submitting your documents?
Email them to [email protected]

For more information, kindly visit Dragonfly webpage.