Why does NASA want to send robots to the caves of Mars?

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.

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"OR a next two years he will work on XNUMXD simulations, a prototype robot, to develop strategies to help it avoid danger in a realistic environment – ​​probably some cave in New Mexico or the . "

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 dissolve the amino acids that provide fragile ζωής. Αυτές οι σκληρές επιφανειακές συνθήκες αποτελούν πρόκληση και για τους αστροναύτες. Έτσι οι επιστήμονες πρότειναν να εξερευνήσουν τις σπηλιές. Επίσης τα τεράστια συστήματα σπηλαίων στο φεγγάρι και στον Άρη θα μπορούσαν να λειτουργήσουν σαν καταφύγια για τους μελλοντικούς ταξιδιώτες στο διάστημα.

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.

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Written by giorgos

George still wonders what he's doing here ...

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