NASA's mini swimming robots aim to discover alien life

Imagine a swarm of mini robots, each the size of an average smartphone, delivered by a probe breaking through the frozen shell, swimming beneath the icy crust of one of Jupiter's or Saturn's moons. Upon reaching this aquatic environment, the robots would explore a new, unknown world in search of signs of extraterrestrial life. Sounds like a science fiction movie scenario? It's already happening.

NASA engineers have just completed initial tests of a new exploration mission concept using a group of small underwater robots to search for signs of life on other planets and moons. The SWIM project (Sensing With Independent Micro-swimmers) envisions that mini robots will break free upon reaching an icy ocean and collect data on the chemical and thermal environment of that place.

When the Europa Clipper probe reaches Jupiter in 2030, it will perform dozens of flybys of Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, using advanced scientific instruments to look for evidence that the ocean beneath its icy surface could sustain life. NASA plans to include the tested group of miniature, autonomous swimming robots from the SWIM project in this effort. These innovative robots, resembling cell phones, are designed to operate autonomously in environments millions of miles away from Earth.

"People might ask, why is NASA developing an underwater robot for space exploration? It’s because there are places we want to go in the solar system to look for life, and we think life needs water. So we need robots that can explore those environments – autonomously, hundreds of millions of miles from home," explained Ethan Schaler from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

According to NASA, the design of the micro-swimmers is based on the concept of utilizing dozens of autonomous robotic units moving through water. After penetrating the icy shell, they would reach subsurface oceans. These small robots, measuring 16.5 inches, would collect data on chemical and temperature signals that might indicate the presence of life in these extreme conditions.

The studies were conducted in a pool at Caltech in Pasadena, California, where prototypes were tested for maneuverability and autonomous operation. A dual-propeller robot with four steering fins explored the pool's surface in a characteristic way, moving in patterns reminiscent of lawn mowers.

Computer simulations were carried out alongside real-world tests to verify the data collection capabilities of these robots' digital models. These analyses contributed to the development of algorithms and tested the boundaries of these devices' capabilities in potential, unknown research conditions.

Additionally, a team from Georgia Tech supporting the tests developed an ocean sensor measuring multiple parameters simultaneously. These innovative technological solutions require many more years of work before being used in space missions, but they already support oceanographic research on Earth.