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It is not part of a science fiction script, it is a real plan: the NASA is thinking of developing, literally, a swarm of robots to search for extraterrestrial life on other planets.
these bots, the size of a cell phonewill be the protagonists of the concepto SWIMdeveloped by the US space agency for the exploration of celestial bodies and planets.
According to a report from the Spanish website of Independent, the robots would be embedded in a probe that melts ice and sinks through the several-kilometre-thick icy shell of the planetsbefore a mechanism releases them underwater to take measurements of the oceans, previously impossible to reach.
An investment of 600 thousand dollars
The report adds that NASA awarded $600,000 to Ethan Schalera mechanical engineer specializing in robotics at the space agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to study feasibility and design options, hoping to build a 3D printed prototype in the next two years.
Shaler wondered: “Where can we take miniaturized robotics and apply it in new and interesting ways to explore our solar system?”. And then he answered.
“With a swarm of little swimming robots, we can explore a much larger volume of ocean water and improve our measurements by having multiple robots collecting data in the same area”.
Each robot would be equipped with its own propulsion system, computer, and ultrasonic communications system. A set of sensors would also allow them to measure temperature, salinity, acidity, pressure and biomarkers.
The SWIM concept is not yet part of any NASA mission, but the robots could be part of the payload of the Europa Clipper mission in 2024.
NASA assured that these robots would increase the probability of detecting evidence of life, while evaluating the possible habitability of distant planets.
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