A robotic snake referred to as Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor (EELS) is being developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to seek for life outdoors planet Earth. EELS will be capable to discover otherworldly terrains utilizing spinning wheels alongside its physique. Its main goal is Enceladus, a small icy moon of Saturn, the place knowledge from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft suggests the presence of a liquid ocean beneath its icy crust.
Plumes erupting from the moon’s floor function direct conduits to this liquid water, making them potential pathways to a liveable liquid ocean. EELS will crawl down crevasses and swim by way of water to research such environments, utilizing modern rotating propulsion models that perform as tracks, gripping mechanisms, and underwater propeller models. This could allow the robotic to entry a plume vent exit and hint it again to its ocean supply.
Dr. Martin Robinson, the challenge supervisor, envisions a platform that would discover any location, even descending into lunar lava tubes. EELS’ adaptability opens up potentialities for different locations, similar to Martian polar caps and crevasses in Earth’s ice sheets. JPL is collaborating with Earth scientists to establish high-priority, high-impact terrestrial scientific investigations that may exhibit EELS’ capabilities in a planetary analogue setting. Exams have been carried out inside Canada’s Athabasca Glacier and Mount Meager Volcano.
EELS’ versatility and machine intelligence make it appropriate for varied unvisited planetary locations and areas on Earth. The invention of potential life could be an unbelievable achievement, signifying that we’re not alone. Dr. Hiro Ono, Principal Investigator at JPL, describes the challenge as a “versatile, very smart, and tremendous superior snake robotic.”
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