NASA researchers have conducted a successful test in the pool of an experimental underwater robot created to search for signs of life in the icy seas of the giant planets’ moons Jupiter and Saturn. First of all, it is planned to carry out such studies under the icy crust of Jupiter’s moon Europa. The design of underwater robots is carried out within the scope of the SWIM (Self-Sufficient Water-Based Independent Maneuverers) project.

People You may ask: Why is NASA developing an underwater robot for space exploration? Because there are places in the solar system that we want to go to look for life, and we think that life needs water. Therefore, we need robots that can explore this environment autonomously, hundreds of millions of kilometers away from home. “said Ethan Schaler, SWIM principal investigator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

At this stage, the prototype of SWIM is a 3D printed wedge-shaped robot. Two propellers were used in the design. The robot is also equipped with a four-axis stability control system and underwater acoustic communications. The length of the prototype is 42 cm, its mass is 2.3 kg, but the final robots that will go into space will be much smaller – about 12 cm long and comparable in size to a phone.

As part of the research mission, a group of such robots is planned to be launched into the oceans of Europe. The SWIM project opens new horizons in the search for signs of life in the icy oceans of Jupiter’s moons, and could be a breakthrough in space exploration.