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NASA’s jet propulsion laboratory has announced that it will test the BRUIE, an autonomous robot to explore the sea under ice, in the Antarctic Ocean in December. Bruy can operate in the sea for several months and is expected to be active in the exploration of extraterrestrial life in the future.
The surfaces of Jupiter’s moon Europa and Saturn’s moon Enceladus are covered with thick ice. Below that, the presence of water is evident. Bruy is a robot that dives deep under ice and investigates the oxygen concentration, salt concentration, pressure, and temperature in extraterrestrial deep seas, which are usually difficult to inspect.
The brew is about 1m in size and is designed to float on the water, and it has a structure in which it moves on two wheels under the thick ice covering the sea. Submarine-type probes that dive deep into the sea can break or disappear due to the currents. However, Bruy is less concerned about moving the sea-ice interface and flowing into the current.
The ice crust that covers Europa and Enceladus, said Kevin Thorne, lead scientist at the Bruy Project, said that the ice crust that covers Europa and Enceladus acts as a spear in the sea and can help raise life in the sea. Therefore, if you want to explore life that may exist in Europa and Enceladus, you must go under thick ice. He says he should crawl and investigate.
The brew test was conducted on Lake Alaska in 2015. As he runs on the back of the ice, he can measure data by shining light into the sea and use two HD cameras to find the location of the methane eruption.
The research institute will evaluate the Earth’s Antarctic sea, covered with thick ice like Europa and Enceladus, as the ideal test site for Bruy, and will conduct the Bruy test in the Antarctic Ocean from December. According to the research team, the brew is equipped with a specification that automatically and safely turns off the power in the water and works only when you want to conduct an investigation. It can also be operated for months under ice and remotely operated wirelessly.
But Bruy’s development team says that it can be difficult to recognize life that is completely different from Earth, as Bruy has no choice but to detect that it resembles life on Earth. According to the institute, NASA plans to launch the Europa probe in 2025, and it expects Bruy to be part of the project. Related information can be found here .
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