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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."

1 of 33 comments (clear)

  1. 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)