This new generation of NASA robots will revolutionize the exploration of the Solar System

2023-05-14 01:58:37

For the exploration of the Solar System, scientists first relied on probes. Now on rovers. They returned valuable data. But they may well not be up to the challenges posed by the exploration of distant planets, in particular. To see what is hiding in these hostile environments, researchers are imagining new solutions. Those at NASA are currently developing an amazing snake-like robot.

Beneath the icy crust of Enceladus, one of the many moons of SaturnSaturnprobably hides an ocean liquidliquid. And the researchers imagine that there could be some forms of extraterrestrial life there. To get to the bottom of it, you’ll probably have to go see it. Yes, but Saturn is far away. And rovers such as those sent to Mars so far might not be very suitable for exploring Enceladus’ ice landscape.

Never mind, the teams of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL, NasaNasa) decided to take up the challenge. They imagined a new kind of robotrobot for exploring extreme terrain. A self-propelled and autonomous robot called EELS – short forExobiology Extant Life Surveyor. A robot that is very special in that it looks like… a snake!

“EELS has the ability to go places other robots can’t. While some bots are better on one particular type of terrain or another, the idea of this one is to give it the ability to do it all”explains Matthew Robinson, project manager at JPL, in a communiqué. “When you go to places where you’re not sure what you’ll find, you want to send a robot that’s versatile, aware of the risks, prepared for uncertainty and able to make decisions on its own. »

No ground will resist him

Thus, EELS was designed to be able to move and orient itself on a wide variety of terrains. Almost everywhere in our solar system, finally. Including on Earth, if necessary. In the sablesable or on ice, on cliff faces or in craters too steep for rovers, in tubes of makemake underground passages or the labyrinths drawn in glaciersglaciers. And on the frozen ground of Enceladus, to the cracks from which escape the plumes of water vapor charged with amino acidsamino acids observed by the Cassini mission.

Robot-snakes to explore Mars?

The current version, EELS 1.0, weighs around 100 kilos and is four meters long. The robot snake is made up of 10 identical segments that rotate, using screw threads for propulsion, traction and grip. It has already been tested in different environments. JPL engineers having in mind to work a little in mode start-upstart-up : build quickly, test often, learn, adjust, repeat.

Because the challenge is huge. Once on Enceladus, EELS will be very far from humanity. He will not be able to count on the help of the engineers to move around. The teams therefore planned a system of cameras and lidarlidar – a kind of radar that works on short pulses laserlaser instead of waves radioradio – so that the robot can map its environment. Navigation algorithms then determine the safest path for him to follow. And the approach to adopt depending on the external conditions. The final version of the robot-snake will also integrate no less than 48 kinds of small motors which will ensure its flexibility. They will also allow him – thanks to sensorssensors – to feel the force he exerts on the pitch. Enough to move in particular vertically in narrow chutes with uneven surfaces. “So far, we have focused onautonomyautonomy and the mobility of the robot, later we will see which scientific instruments we can integrate into EELS”, says Matthew Robinson. To be continued…