In September 2024, a robot prototype that will be used to explore the subterranean waters of frozen moons floats through a pool at Caltech, its reflection visible beneath the water's surface.
A swarm of tiny underwater robots that NASA is testing are intended to investigate the waters beneath ice worlds like Europa. According to a prospective NASA mission proposal, thousands of autonomous, cellphone-sized robots will search for chemical and temperature indicators that might indicate life in the waters beneath the ice shells of moons like Saturn's Enceladus and Jupiter's Europa.Under the direction of temperature and chemical cues, a set of concept prototypes known as SWIM (Sensing With Independent Micro-swimmers) imagines miniature robots the size of cellphones plunging into alien oceans to search for life.
These robots can navigate, correct their path, and even spell out "JPL" on their own, according to recent pool testing conducted at Caltech in Pasadena, California.
The prototype weighed five pounds (2.3 kilograms) and measured roughly 16.5 inches (42 centimeters) in length. It was used in the majority of the pool experiments.
The robots, as designed for spaceflight, would be around three times smaller than current autonomous and remotely operated underwater scientific vehicles.
The SWIM project, which was overseen by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, was funded by the agency's Space Technology Mission Directorate's Innovative Advanced Concepts program.
The project was completed between the spring of 2021 and the fall of 2024.
The robots, as designed for spaceflight, would be around three times smaller than current autonomous and remotely operated underwater scientific vehicles.
The SWIM project, which was overseen by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, was funded by the agency's Space Technology Mission Directorate's Innovative Advanced Concepts program.
The project was completed between the spring of 2021 and the fall of 2024.
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