CNN reports that a professor and his students at Stanford's Autonomous Systems Laboratory have received "phase II" funding from NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts Program (which supports space robotics research) after demonstrating the feasibility of a robot that can explore space. caves.
"The team will spend the next two years working on XNUMXD simulations, a prototype robot, to develop strategies to help it avoid hazards in a realistic environment – probably some cave in New Mexico or California."
One of the students he explains on CNN that “Caves are dangerous environments, but they are very interesting scientifically. Our idea for this robot is to go far before humans get there.”
New research says the best chance of finding evidence of past or present life on Mars requires searches beneath its surface — at least 2 meters below.
Mars has an incredibly thin atmosphere, which means the red planet's surface is bombarded by high-energy radiation from space, and this could quickly break down the amino acids that provide the fragile building blocks of life. These harsh surface conditions are also a challenge for astronauts. So the scientists proposed to explore the caves. Also the vast cave systems on the moon and Mars could act as shelters for future space travelers.
Caves could also contain resources such as water, reveal more about a planet's history, and be shelters for myriads of microbial life. On Earth, caves containing various groups of microorganisms have been found and are still unexplored.
The caving robot will likely be equipped with cameras, microscopes and LIDAR remote sensing. The team envisions it being attached to a powered rover that will circulate on the surface.
