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Probes Could Swim Through Ice on Mars or Europa

Posted by timothy on from the just-look-at-the-astounding-market-demand dept.

Fraser Cain writes "NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) has funded a proposal to explore the idea of a robotic probe that could melt its way through the polar icecaps on Mars or ice covering Europa's ocean. A swarm of these these 100 kg probes would sample pockets of air in the ice as they maneuvered around in formation, searching for evidence of life - either past or present."

33 comments

  1. Don't you think.... by HotNeedleOfInquiry · · Score: 2, Funny

    They should fix the shuttle gas gauge sender first?

    --
    "Eve of Destruction", it's not just for old hippies anymore...
    1. Re:Don't you think.... by HotNeedleOfInquiry · · Score: 2, Funny

      So I'm a troll... What the fsk does a poster have to do to be funny? Hell, there's only 12 posts, not like I'm wasting bandwidth...

      --
      "Eve of Destruction", it's not just for old hippies anymore...
  2. eek! by thhamm · · Score: 1

    melt its way through the polar icecaps on Mars

    no no, don`t do it. these things seem to turn out bad these days.

  3. Let's hope they get it done right. by alexwcovington · · Score: 5, Interesting
    This is a good idea, but it'll take a lot to make it work right, especially difficult while the NASA budget is flung all over the place.

    It is especially important with all the water they'll be dealing with, that they take much more care with biological scrubbing... The recent news about the bacteria on the Mars landers doesn't bode well for sending anything 100% clean to the edges of space.

    --
    (It's never too late to join the Renaissance)
    1. Re:Let's hope they get it done right. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The recent news about the bacteria on the Mars landers

      Huh? Reference please. How can Earth bacteria survive on Mars with no atmosphere? And if they can survive then why doesn't Mars have bateria all over the place?

      Did they ever even actually find ice/water on Mars or is this just more speculation?

    2. Re:Let's hope they get it done right. by gstoddart · · Score: 1, Funny
      And what if there are intelligent things in the ice?
      I bet they'll wonder why we launched flaming balls of death at them...

      Nah. The American Information Minister will announce that we have liberated the intelligent beings from their ice-prison and plan on installing a democracy and a Wal Mart. :-P
      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    3. Re:Let's hope they get it done right. by Shihar · · Score: 1

      I can't answer your first questions, but I can answer your second one.

      "Did they ever even actually find ice/water on Mars or is this just more speculation?"

      You know those big white caps on the poles of Mars? Yeah... that is ice. Well, frozen CO2 as well, but also ice. There is absolutely no question that Mars has ice.

    4. Re:Let's hope they get it done right. by vethia · · Score: 1

      If the project is viable, there's always the possibility of other funding from private sources such as the Planetary Society. Interest in spaceflight and the search for extraterrestrial life comes from many corners, and as evidenced by the X Prize, there's money out there.

  4. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 4, Funny

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  5. Evaporation by kevingc · · Score: 0

    I for one, hope that the melted water doesn't leave Mars, since that's one of the few resources we need for colonization.

  6. Second of 12 by DynaSoar · · Score: 4, Informative

    There's only 10 more of the most recent NIAC phase 1 awards to trickle through the delay lines between the nodes of the blogohypersphere and find their way to /. as "news".

    Or you can get it over with and read them all at http://www.niac.usra.edu/studies/studies.jsp?cpnum =05-01

    You can also check the "call for proposals" link and wait until they open it up again, and send your Great Big Idea for consideration. Also, students can do the same, for scholarship money at http://www.niac.usra.edu/students/index.html

    --
    "I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
    1. Re:Second of 12 by Fraser+Cain · · Score: 1

      /. posted an announcement of the full list a couple of months ago, but NIAC just posted short descriptions of each technology.

      We've been interviewing each of the proponents and getting the full story.

      So, it'll be a few more months before we've gone through all of them. If that's not fast enough for you, come and write for me. :-)

      --
      Publisher, Universe Today - http://www.universetoday.com
    2. Re:Second of 12 by DynaSoar · · Score: 1

      "If that's not fast enough for you, come and write for me."

      Let it not be said I'm just another /. whiner, unwilling to put effort into changing what I complain about.

      Offer sent via email.

      --
      "I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
  7. Swim through ice? by rossdee · · Score: 2, Funny

    Don't you normally need H2O in its liquid form in order to swim?

    While Europa may have liquid beneath the ice crust, the probe will still have to get through that crust first. Will it be taking along the necessary tools (Icehouse, auger and sufficient quantities of alcohol which seem to be required by ice fishermen to get through the ice on the lakes around here?

    1. Re:Swim through ice? by NiceGeek · · Score: 3, Informative

      Ok...once again Slasdotters have proven not only to be unable to RTFA but can't even bother to read the freaking summary - what part of "robotic probe that could MELT its way through the polar icecaps on Mars or ice covering Europa's ocean" didn't you understand?

  8. Obligatory by Z0mb1eman · · Score: 2, Funny

    "All these worlds are yours, except Europa"

    Better be careful what they swim into... :p

    --
    ClutterMe.com - easiest site creation on the Net. Just click and type.
    1. Re:Obligatory by ChadN · · Score: 2, Funny

      For another bit of fun, I just noticed that Google maps now has a map of the moon landing sites available, in celebration of the anniversary of the first landing.

      http://moon.google.com/

      Try zooming in all the way...

      As for exploring other systems that could be life supporting, as a NASA contractor, I hope we a) make it a bigger priority, and b) don't fuck it up by contaminating anything.

      I used to think, when I was young, that if we found extraplanetary life, in my lifetime, I would be alive to see an amazing change in orthodoxy, both religious, scientific, and otherwise. Now, both religion (crudely lumping the most popular ones together) and science seem to expect such a discovery, and each has already adapted and prepared for the day when such discovery is made. I'm personally hoping what we find completely defies prediction.

      --
      "It's overkill, of course. But you can never have too much overkill." - Anonymous Slashdot Coward
  9. Lighten up, son by jfengel · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Dude... it was a JOKE. Probes taking along an ice house and alcohol, like they do in Minnesota... get it?

    At least bother to read the whole post before flaming on. No, it wasn't a particularly well told joke (he took too long to get to the punch line), but jeez, man: lighten up.

  10. 1. Fill pockets with salt, Step2 by lazy+genes · · Score: 0

    Where are they going to test this thing?Did they use this during the Amanda projects?

  11. Probes by weicco · · Score: 1

    So we are sending back those anal-probes (remember South Park and Cartman with 30 feet satellite disc coming from his rear end?) they've been installing to us for some time now?

    --
    You don't know what you don't know.
  12. Did he say ... by OeLeWaPpErKe · · Score: 1

    100 kg ? a swarm ? mars ?

    I think they need to recheck nasa's pricelist for dropping a kg of material on mars ...

  13. This Is Good News by lorelorn · · Score: 3, Interesting
    A detailed search of Europa has been a high priority since the Gallileo mission confirmed what most people though after Voyager- a liquid 'ocean' under an ice layer.

    What makes this project different, and why it has actually advanced, is that someone has actually come up with a design that looks like it might work!

    It's long been known what you need to do to get under the ice and explore, but the particulars have never before reached even this stage- and it is an early stage.

    There won't be a mission to Europa in the next 5-8 years, but the next 10-15 looks more possible. Subject to budgetary constraints, of course.

  14. Solar Sails by Timberwolf0122 · · Score: 0

    could save a fortune on the launch cost, all you need to do is get them in high orbit then deploy a vast sail and enjoy free power.

    --
    In the not too distant future, next Sunday A.D.
    1. Re:Solar Sails by leonardluen · · Score: 1

      you need to pay for the R&D to make them work first. and then they would be a new and unproven technology. we know how standard rocket engines work, and we have a lot of experience using them.

    2. Re:Solar Sails by Timberwolf0122 · · Score: 0

      Indeed, we may well need to do a test flight with either a dummy mass or just one probe of similar mass to test the theory. Solar sails wuld also alow for more-probe to be sent as a sail is very light and requires no fule and so can run indefinatley, the acceleration is slow compared to chemical rockets but it is contant.

      --
      In the not too distant future, next Sunday A.D.
  15. Why not Vostok first? by ThomasCR · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Before you bother to go to Europa, do try it at home! On Antarctica's lake Vostok. AFAIK, that ice above this lake is still not penetrated? Will it be easier on Europa, where the pH is around zero?

    1. Re:Why not Vostok first? by DerekLyons · · Score: 1
      Before you bother to go to Europa, do try it at home! On Antarctica's lake Vostok.
      Already in progress.
    2. Re:Why not Vostok first? by ThomasCR · · Score: 1

      I know. For how many years, by how many people involved?

  16. You modded him funny? by lilmouse · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Geeze - moderators with no vision! If someone sent a probe knocked out every electronic device in the western US with an EMP (because it was measuring sub-surface structure based on the echo?), what do you think Bush would do? "I, for one, welcome our new..."? No way in hell - he'd make some speech about freedom and launch our nuculear arsenal into speace to deal with it!

    --LWM

  17. This looks simple enough by MooseTick · · Score: 1

    Plop a few transmitters on the surface with small nuclear heat sources on their bottom. Let them melt the ice below them and make a tunnel straight down. Eventually it will cave in on top of the probe and make transmissions more difficult. It could take various readings as it melted its way through.

    --
    Ninjas don't carry tic tacs
    1. Re:This looks simple enough by spike+hay · · Score: 1

      Just trail a thin wire through.

      --
      If you don't understand any of my sayings, come to me in private and I shall take you in my German mouth.
  18. Water pressure by janap · · Score: 1

    Once the probe broke through the ice at the bottom, wouldn't the tremendous water pressure down there carry it all the way back up to the top again, creating kind of a geyser throwing the probe up and away?