NASA to make robots that swim to find aliens

A concept to send a dozen of small robots that can swim into Jupiter’s Moon Europa and release them under the ice was delivered by NASA.

 Highlights

• NASA is going to make dozen of small swimming robots to send to space.
• It will be used on Jupiter’s moon Europa as well as Saturn’s moon Enceladus.
• The robots are to be released into the ice of the planet.
• It will be used to see if there is proof of aliens under the ice.

Search for alien life or proof of life apart from ours, has been a thing since many decades. Space has been a favorite matter of interest in the field of science too.

It is believed that if there is presence of water then there is presence of life. So NASA often searches for the presence of water on other planets. The moons of Jupiter as well as Saturn seem to have the presence of water as ice. 

The American space agency NASA, is all set to make dozen of small robots that can swim. These robots are to be sent to Jupiter’s moon Europa as well as Saturn’s moon Enceladus.

NASA expects to use these Robots under the ice of these moons to find if there is proof of aliens. This idea is part of their SWIM, Sensing With Independent Micro-swimmers, exploration concept.

These satellites of these plants are covered in ice. The thick ice cover stretches to several kilometers deep from the surface area.

Scientists also think that enormous oceans of liquid water exist under the deep sheet of ice in these satellites. Till now, we are only able to imagine all the strange as well as maybe big sea creatures in these unexplored oceans. 

 Further information by NASA

The concept design caters a poetic solution to the issue of kilometers of thick ice sheets.

The robotic mechanical engineer Ethan Schaler at NASA’s JPL, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, has come up with the new idea. This idea was rewarded $600,000 from NASA.

Schaler’s concept involves probing Europa with a dozen mobile phone- sized swimming robots as well as releasing them In the water under the ice.

To penetrate kilometers of ice we have to use Cryobot to reach the liquid ocean. The Cryobot will have narrow probes that melt ice.

This is where the robots will be placed. These narrow probes will melt ice as well as will approach the ocean. This will be the time to release the swimming robots and gather the data. 

If this idea develops into something solid, these robots might actually get used and sent to Europa. NASA plans to make this happen by 2030.