After the test in Antarctica, will cryobots be able to penetrate the
icy surface of the Jovian moon Europa, and explore the liquid water
ocean? Maybe find primitive life?
I find the concept of cryobots quite fascinating, see Wikipedia
definition below. One problem on Europa is the energy required to melt
through the thick sheet of ice. Is nuclear power the only option?
--
Matt Browne
My webpage is at http://www.meet-matt-browne.com
"As a race, we survive on planet Earth purely by geological consent."
Bill McGuire
--
A cryobot is a robot designed to operate in or around water ice. The
cryobot is a surface-controlled, nonrecoverable instrumented vehicle
that can penetrate polar ice sheets down to 3600 meters by melting. It
can be used to measure temperature, stress, ice movement, and seismic,
acoustic and dielectric properties. It can also be used for other
investigations with remote instrumentation. The probe consists of a
hot point for melt penetration, instrumentation for control and
measurement functions, two supply conductor coils to link the probe
with the surface for transmission of power and measurement signals,
and a reservoir section. The probe is filled with a dielectric fluid.
The cryobot was invented by German physicist Karl Philberth, who first
demonstrated it in the 1960s as part of the International
Glaciological Greenland Expedition, achieving drilling depths in
excess of 1,000 meters.
Cryobots are currently being tested in Antarctica as prototypes for a
space probe that may someday penetrate the icy surface of Europa, a
moon of Jupiter, and explore the liquid water ocean thought to be
present below the ice, which may harbour extraterrestrial life.
|
