Dragonfly Titan GCS

• EFIELD / METHAN: IPM 2025: Lorenz et al., DraGMet design, printed pp. 184-185; Seese et al., EFIELD, pp. 186-187: real EFIELD engineering-model photos and published probe sizes; METHAN's filtered exterior mirror cell and fiber-fed warm light engine. CAPS 2024 slide 42 is a design diagram, not a hardware photo. METHAN's detailed casing and installation are an approved illustrative estimate. APL DraGMet overview.
• Cameras: DragonCam Microscopic Camera paper (Malin Space Science Systems, 2026): the nine cameras and where they sit, Microscopic Camera size and its 986 mm, 52-degree view of the drill site.
• Sampling system: DrACO, LPSC 2022 (Honeybee Robotics, APL, NASA Goddard): drills, the cross-strapped pneumatic transfer (hoses, tubes, flow diverters, two blowers) and cups; ICES-2023 for the blower behind the port forward arm; DrACO test-hardware photos (Tighe Costa, Honeybee); NASA printable model for the drill's place on the body.
• Carousel, Wonderwall, DraMS: DraMS / carousel thermal interface, AIAA SciTech 2024 (NASA Goddard) and NASA integration photos (NASA/Mike Guinto).
• Electronics: NASA/APL integration photos, March 2026 (IEM and power switching units); connector sizes from the MIL-DTL-83513 Micro-D and MIL-DTL-24308 D-sub standards.
• Radio: APL Frontier radio photo, Frontier Radio Virtual Radio, iCubeSat 2019 (APL) and US patent 8,417,859, modular software-defined radios (Johns Hopkins). The 100 W amplifier (TWTA) is not pictured, so it is drawn like published flight TWTAs: LRO's TWTA photo and sizes (NASA Glenn, L-3), MRO telecommunications (JPL DESCANSO) and Stellant space TWTs; its mounting under the top deck follows ICES-2020 (APL) and ICES-2023.
• Antenna gimbal: APL photo of the high-gain antenna's motorized arm, July 2026 (NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman), NASA test-chamber photo of the antenna, June 2026; ICES-2023 figs. 1 and 3 (actuators under foam forward of the dish, launch and flight locks) and ICES-2020 (internal portion under the deck, 5 cm foam dome).
• Rotor heads: APL/NASA's "Revolutionary Rotors" video, January 2026 (full-scale wind-tunnel model with flight-like rotors at NASA Langley), NASA's tunnel-test photos and the flight lander frame in vibration testing (NASA/APL, 2026): the motor stacks and hub plates.
• Battery: battery thermal module, ICES-2022 (APL) (24 cells; real photos of the 9-cell test module), GS Yuasa LSE space cell datasheet and Aerospace America, 2022 (11.5 kWh, GS Yuasa cells).
• Layout and thermal design: Lander thermal model, ICES-2023-389 (APL), thermal controller design, TFAWS 2023 (APL) and full-scale test module, TFAWS 2024 (APL); the fans, warm duct and belly cold duct with its fore and aft diverter flaps follow the two TFAWS talks.
• Structure: NASA/APL top-deck fit check, April 2026 and July 2026 structure tests, including the inverted vibration fixture. Real photos inform the aft panel's appearance; APL's 2024 CAD is an orientation/layout cross-reference. Exact tilt and dimensions are estimates.

Saved pages, photos and credits for every part: part sources · interior rebuild checklist.

19 of the 24 interior parts are redrawn from their own sources (4 by Codex, 15 by Claude). Each part's Component text in the Vehicle Layers panel says the same in more detail, with links. This counts initial asset passes, not verified flight replicas; METHAN is a labeled design-based approximation.

• 01 DrACO drills (Claude). Published: two redundant rotary-percussive drills, one beside each side of the body; a head with percussion and rotation actuators riding a Z-stage rail; a hollow bit reaching 6 cm deep (DrACO, LPSC 2022). Estimated: part sizes, proportioned from the paper's CAD figure (about 0.7 m tall), colors, and the fore-aft position (0.43 m forward of center, inside the sources' 0.34-0.45 m).
• 02 Sample-transfer lines (Claude). Published: the cross-strapped layout: either drill can feed either cup through flow diverters, and a return line runs to two blowers (DrACO fig. 1). Estimated: tube size (about 13 mm), routes and hose lengths.
• 03 Nose bulkhead (Codex, provisional). Real 2026 structure photos inform panel finish, perimeter joints and fasteners; the older ICES-2023 thermal CAD provides layout only. The complete nose face is not exposed clearly. Estimated: the retained 0.70 x 0.40 m envelope, 20 mm depth, 3 mm face, flanges, corners, mounts and fastener pattern. Hiding Covers removes a representation, not a verified flight hatch. Hidden core/layup and apertures are not reconstructed; empty space in inspection means unmodeled, not hollow flight hardware. This pass remains unchecked.
• 04 Nose cameras (Claude). Published: the camera types (Forward MAC with a 12.6 mm lens, Forward WAC and two Side Cameras with 5.8 mm lenses, two NavCams), one shared camera body, and positions from the 2026 DragonCam paper's CAD figures. Estimated: pointing angles, which low unit is the WAC or a NavCam, and which camera carries the black hood.
• 06 Sample carousel (Codex). Published: the casing, cooling fins and drives below, as photographed in NASA's integration photos; its place in the cold attic (SciTech 2024). Estimated: the 0.36 m drum diameter, fittings and exact placement; the indexing ring is a diagram cue, not flight hardware.
• 07 Wonderwall (Codex). Published: a barrier between the cold carousel and warm DraMS, with the instruments about 5 cm apart (ICES-2023). Estimated: the contour, thickness, layers and openings (the 5 cm is a separation, not the wall thickness).
• 08 DraMS (Codex). Published: laser desorption and gas chromatography / mass spectrometry modes; its place in the warm attic (SciTech 2024). Estimated: enclosure sizes, covers, routes and fan; electrodes, GC columns, laser optics and the oven are not drawn.
• 10 Antenna gimbal (Claude). Published: a motorized arm that raises the 87.4 cm dish when landed and lowers it into a locking mechanism before flight (APL); azimuth and elevation actuators under tan foam forward of the stowed dish, a launch lock under the dish with a flight lock either side (ICES-2023); the gimbal's internal portion under the deck, a 5 cm foam dome above it and a thermally isolated joint to the dish (ICES-2020); the look of the gold actuator drum, arm and truss pedestal from APL's photo. Estimated: sizes, the 0.6 m arm and hinge position (measured on ICES-2023 fig. 1 against the dish), lock shapes and colors, and the azimuth limit that keeps the dish out of the attic (so with Earth behind the lander the dish cannot point straight at it).
• 11 Power switching units (Claude). Published: two units; the face of PSU 1, mapped connector by connector from NASA/APL's testing photo, beside the IEM as photographed. Estimated: size (about 20 x 24 x 19 cm, scaled from standard D-sub connectors); where PSU 2 sits, and its face (drawn like PSU 1).
• 12 Integrated electronics module (Claude). Published: its look in NASA/APL's integration photos: heat-sink top, bolted connector face, Micro-D connectors, copper ground strap, mounted on a wall panel beside a PSU. Estimated: size (about 28 x 28 x 22 cm, scaled from standard Micro-D connectors), the hidden window layout, depth and which wall.
• 13 Frontier radio (Claude). Published: APL's photo of a four-slice stack with labeled connectors; 4 x 6 inch slices; 2.1 kg. Estimated: stack width, slice split and connector details read from the photo; its place on the starboard bay floor; whether a second unit flies.
• 14 Radio amplifier (TWTA) (Claude). Published: one 100 W X-band amplifier on the underside of the top deck, warm in flight (NASA; ICES-2020 and 2023). Estimated: its look and sizes, since Dragonfly's unit is not pictured: drawn like LRO's, MRO's and Stellant's flight amplifiers (a 33 cm tube and a 21 cm power conditioner); its place above the radio; the waveguide route forward to the antenna gimbal, the coax and the harness.
• 15 Battery (Claude). Published: an 11.5 kWh pack of 24 GS Yuasa cells, 134 Ah, built by APL; fans, heat pipes in three directions, fins between the cell stacks and 7.5 kg of phase-change wax (Aerospace America 2022; APL; ICES-2020, 2022, 2023); real photos of APL's 9-cell thermal test module (ICES-2022). Estimated: the cell model (GS Yuasa's 134 Ah LSE134, inferred), the 4 x 6 layout, the enclosure (its look taken from the test module, which is not flight hardware), fan and connector positions, the place just forward of the aft arms (TFAWS 2023 plan view); the wax is not drawn because where it sits is not published.
• 16 Aft bulkhead (Claude). Published: NASA/APL structure photos show the gold-colored aft face, pocketed rim and ribbed circular generator interface; the July article explicitly identifies the vibration fixture as inverted. Estimated: 25-degree aft/up generator tilt, panel dimensions, thickness, coating, pocket/fastener layout, foam profile, antenna and fan placement. APL's 2024 CAD cross-checks orientation only. The photographed cylinder is test hardware; the collar fits the modeled panel but its actual air passage and final flight configuration are not reconstructed. Codex completed verification and release documentation.
• 17 Circulation fans (Claude). Published: two fans (A and B) at the MMRTG end, 0.052 kg/s by design within a 15 W allocation; a flight-like fan tested at 5,000-6,200 rpm (TFAWS 2023 and 2024, ICES-2023). Estimated: fan size, scaled from the 2023 plan view, housings, revised fore-aft placement and the collar at the canted aft panel.
• 18 Warm duct (Claude). Published: a duct on the centerline under the floor from the fans to the nose, turning up into the body below the nose; about 14 cm wide, measured on the 2023 plan view (TFAWS 2023). Estimated: its height and flanges.
• 19 Trim device (Claude). Published: a cold bypass duct under the belly, outside the foam, between fore and aft diverter flaps that send 0-40% of the warm flow through it; a full-scale test reached 245.7 W at a 23.7-degree flap angle (TFAWS 2023 and 2024). Estimated: the duct section, housings and actuators; ICES-2023's earlier side-chimney concept is archived.
• 22 EFIELD / METHAN (Codex). Published: two fixed EFIELD probes with 30 cm carbon-fiber stalks and 5 cm gold-plated aluminum balls, front upper starboard / rear lower port locations, co-mounted atmospheric TEMP/MICRO; METHAN's cold dust-filtered mirrored cell connected by optical fibers to a warm DPU light engine, using 1.67 micrometer and continuum sources (IPM 2025). Estimated: EFIELD preamp size, exact mounting/pointing and interfaces; all METHAN casing dimensions, material/finish, two filter cassettes, supports, cover and fiber-entry geometry. METHAN is an approved design approximation, not photo-matched hardware. Hidden optics and warm DPU internals are not drawn.
• 23 Lower DragonCam cameras (Claude). Published: the Microscopic Camera (105 x 155 x 90 mm, 1.04 kg) viewing the drill site from 986 mm at 52 degrees; APL's LED array with 365 nm UV; a Down Camera on each side; 3 mm windows in foam cavities (DragonCam paper). Estimated: the Down Cameras' exact positions, brackets and harness; the extra foam the Microscopic Camera needs is not drawn.
• 24 DrACO blowers (Claude). Published: two redundant centrifugal blowers behind the port forward arm, exposed to Titan, fed through an inlet flow diverter (DrACO; ICES-2023). Estimated: their sizes and shapes.
• Reference rebuilds still open: 03 nose bulkhead, 05 navigation and lidar electronics, 09 rotor drive electronics, 20-21 temperature sensors. The rotor-drive enclosures remain provisional illustrations, not photo-matched hardware.

Sourced design, approximate geometry

Published reference values include the 875 kg mass, 1.35 m rotor diameter and four coaxial rotor stations. Storage uses the reported 11.5 kWh design; the 15% reserve is a demo choice. The three-blade configuration follows the 2026 engineer interview. Sources span design revisions, not a certified final flight configuration.

The NASA / APL model is built from procedural geometry using public thermal figures, CAD imagery and assembly references. It is not imported flight CAD. Interior parts are being redrawn one at a time from their own sources: the sample carousel, Wonderwall, DraMS and EFIELD / METHAN assemblies (Codex) and the Frontier radio, integrated electronics module, power switching units, lower DragonCam cameras, nose cameras, DrACO drills, sample-transfer lines and blowers, circulation fans, warm duct, trim device, radio amplifier, antenna gimbal, battery and aft bulkhead (Claude) follow public photos, papers, design diagrams and published sizes; where no size is published, standard parts such as connectors can be used for scale. Component dimensions, placement and tube routing remain approximations, and the drill's part sizes are proportioned from a CAD figure: positions are mostly estimated, though the Microscopic Camera's comes from its published 986 mm, 52-degree view of the drill site. The sample carousel now shows its enclosed drum rather than the earlier 24 drawn cups. No photograph of Dragonfly's radio amplifier was found in the reviewed sources, so it is drawn like published flight amplifiers of its kind, with sizes scaled from them. The aft panel's appearance follows real structure photos; its 25-degree generator tilt and detailed dimensions are estimates. METHAN is a design-based approximation, not a hardware-photo match. Parts not yet redrawn (nose bulkhead and electronics, drive electronics and battery/MMRTG temperature sensors) remain simplified estimates or provisional enclosures. Each part's Component text says what is published and what is estimated, and Vehicle part assumptions lists it part by part (19 of 24 redrawn so far). The original demo model and its interior are deliberately labeled mock-ups.

Rotor-drive electronics provisional pass (Codex): two boxes with internal fans are documented in ICES-2023, but the housing details, fan count, vents, connector blanks and placement shown here are illustrative estimates. No hidden circuit boards are reconstructed. This does not count as a completed reference-based asset. The real RDE thermal-test photograph in APL's CAPS 2024 presentation, slide 27 is too obscured to establish flight casing detail. Real hardware photographs take priority over CGI for future appearance updates.

Inspection layers expose the geometry currently modeled. Body and attic shells still combine their outer shape and insulation; the foam control removes separately modeled insulation around equipment and interfaces. Compartment panels include the bulkheads and Wonderwall faces. Removing a casing reveals only modeled geometry, not a reconstruction of undisclosed electronics. A complete skin, deck and insulation construction stack remains a research task.

DraGMet external instruments (Codex): EFIELD follows real engineering-model photos and published probe dimensions. METHAN's gas-cell casing is an approved design approximation from the published arrangement, with estimated filtered covers, brackets and fiber entry. Its warm sources/detectors belong inside the vehicle and are not reconstructed outside. No undisclosed mirrors, flight optical path, internal electronics or final flight configuration is claimed. Finishing the initial asset pass does not close the hardware-photo and exact-dimension follow-ups.

Illustrative environment

Dunes and interdunes are inspired by the published Ahmakiq Undae landing-area description. Exact terrain, sparse sharp mountain landmarks, rocks, candidate sites and the outcrop are invented training geography, not a surveyed landing map. The small methane puddle is an invented training hazard, not a claim that a lake lies at the landing site; rain-darkened ground is also illustrative.

Sky color, haze, lighting, ground texture and rotor-wash particles are visual approximations. Weather events are seeded and compressed for training, not a Titan forecast or a full atmospheric model. The clean room is a parked illustrative display; the Saturn poster is a photographic composite, not to scale or a view from the lander.

Simplified engineering

Throttle commands a climb rate rather than motor torque. Attitude, rotor mixing, drag, loss factors, guidance, collision protection and touchdown flare are simplified, not a flight-qualified six-degree-of-freedom model. Thermal readouts mix documented reference values with estimated heat balances and shared zone temperatures; they are not hardware sensor measurements. The liquid-to-liquid exchanger study is a hypothetical exercise, not confirmed Titan-surface equipment.

Deliberate simulation additions

• Reverse (sim) is fictional and off by default. At zero manual throttle above 1 m, it adds up to 0.2 m/s2 downward acceleration until reaching 0.6 m/s descent, with an estimated 50 W extra load and reversed rotor animation. It is disabled over liquid and in automated flight. These are gameplay settings, not Dragonfly capabilities.
• The 30-second, 160 W sampling demo and longer LDMS/GCMS training profiles use estimated stage durations, loads, heat coupling and data volumes, not flight procedures. Drill/transfer/carousel motion, flow markers and example chemical results are illustrative. No real drill-force, cup capacity, spectra, retention times or detailed oven temperatures are simulated.
• Transparent cutaways, thermal colors, isolated parts and the sampling-follow camera are inspection aids, not onboard camera imagery. Pausing freezes the simulation, not just the display.
• Accelerated rest, time warp, shortened objectives and liquid no-landing protection are training conveniences. Communications and energy costs are modeled estimates, not a prediction of mission performance.

NASA spacecraft and instruments · APL model references · Project research and assumptions