Sea Gliders for Other Worlds

An anonymous submitter writes: "NASA has, for the moment, killed funding for research leading to an underwater probe for Europa's suspected saltwater ocean. But it's possible that this is a good thing. SPACE.com proposes that U.S. Navy-funded research into underwater gliders could offer a superior means of probing Europa, exploring Venus, and even diving into the methane/ethane seas of Titan. NASA wanted a big battery and propeller machine under the ice of Europa, but that might break down, stir up water that should left undisturbed, and leak lubricants into a pristine research environment. The navy wants gliders with internal actuators because they have no flaps or propellers, no lubricant, and one already exists that could "fly" under the Pacific from Seattle to Tokyo on a penlight battery! Another model uses no batteries for locomotion at all, but instead taps heat gradients."

Comments

New method of drug trafficking

[NetMasta10bt]

I can just imagine fleets of these long tube like gliders deep in the ocean, programmed to travel to a specified GPS location for pick up. They could carry huge ammounts of . The DEA's new nightmare.