After terrestrial exploration with rover, NASA's next great robotic adventure could take place underwater. As a continuation of the Europa Clipper mission, which took off on the 14th with the objective of confirming the existence of an ocean under the icy crust of this moon of Jupiter, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is already preparing the next phase .
This will involve sending a swarm of underwater robots to dive into Europe's waters in search of chemical and temperature signatures that could indicate the presence of life. This project called Swim (Sensing With Independent Micro-swimmers) is materialized by autonomous underwater robots of a size equivalent to that of a mobile phone, says NASA.
Conclusive swimming pool tests
« One might wonder why NASA is developing an underwater robot for space exploration. That's because there are places we want to go in the solar system to look for life, and we think life needs water. We therefore need robots capable of exploring these environments autonomously, hundreds of millions of kilometers from home says Ethan Schaler, principal investigator for SWIM at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
To carry out analyses, these small machines would be equipped with a multifunction sensor capable of simultaneously measuring the temperature, pressure, alkalinity, conductivity and chemical composition of the water. A prototype developed by Georgia Tech has already been tested, specifies JPL.
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Engineers are also conducting pool tests of Swim underwater robot prototypes that have been manufactured using 3D printing. They are a little larger than the final version envisaged, driven by two propellers and four fins. The tests proved conclusive, with the submarines showing their ability to navigate autonomously by correcting their trajectory to maintain it.
Computer simulations
At the same time, JPL carried out computer simulations reproducing pressure and gravity conditions similar to those in Europe which made it possible to develop algorithms that would facilitate exploration. The scientists were also able to evaluate how they could optimize data collection by taking into account the autonomy of these robots (two hours), the volume of water they can cover (around 86,000 cubic meters) and the number of devices deployed.
The prospect of a space mission using underwater robots still seems distant. Indeed, the Europa Clipper mission will not reach its destination until 2030, after which it will begin a series of 49 flybys of Europe. The data collected will then need to be analyzed and conclusions drawn in order to be able to define the profile of an in situ exploration mission.
Until then, JPL envisions that these underwater robots could be used on Earth for oceanographic research and carry out surveys under the polar ice.
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