NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has initiated tests on small underwater robots called SWIM (Sensing With Independent Microswimmers), designed to autonomously explore potential extraterrestrial oceans on icy moons. The initial trials were conducted at the California Institute of Technology, where the robots successfully navigated a swimming pool in a structured back-and-forth pattern and spelt out “J-P-L.” These robots, according to what JPL’s principal investigator Ethan Schaler said in an interview, are intended for exploration missions to detect signs of life on celestial bodies believed to harbour subsurface oceans, such as Jupiter’s moon Europa.
Robotic Swarms for Autonomous Exploration
Schaler emphasised that water is a critical component for life as we know it, and thus, ocean worlds offer promising locations for the search for extraterrestrial life, as per a Space.com report. Constructed from cost-effective 3D-printed materials and powered by standard electronics, the SWIM prototypes exhibit impressive manoeuvrability. Measuring approximately 42 centimetres, the robotic swimmers are expected to be scaled down to about 12 centimetres, roughly the size of a cellphone.
They are equipped to operate autonomously, hundreds of millions of miles from Earth, gathering essential data through their inbuilt sensors. These capabilities, according to Schaler’s comments on Space.com, demonstrate the feasibility of developing such robots to withstand the extreme environments they may encounter on subsurface ocean missions.
Advanced Sensors for Detecting Life Indicators
The SWIM robots are being enhanced with a multi-sensor chip developed by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology. This chip can measure parameters such as temperature, pressure, pH, and chemical composition, which are crucial in assessing conditions that could support microbial life. By incorporating wireless communication systems, the SWIM robots would eventually be able to transmit data and determine their position while navigating foreign waters.
According to the report, testing of the robots in computer simulations that replicate Europa’s gravity and pressure is ongoing, with further design improvements expected as researchers refine the SWIM prototypes for potential interplanetary deployment.
