Nasa testing alien-hunting probe that will dive into icy oceans of Saturn’s moon
NASA is testing an alien-hunting submarine in the frosty oceans of Antarctica.
Eventually the submersible probe will travel to icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn in a bid to find alien life.
It's hoped that the underwater rover will be able to drive upside down under sea ice.
The robot probe is called the Buoyant Rover for Under-Ice Exploration, or BRUIE for short.
Nasa will spend a month testing its endurance at Australia's Casey research station in Antarctica.
But the ultimate goal is to send it to Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus.
These moons are believed to be covered in deep oceans, which themselves are hidden beneath thick, frozen surfaces.
Many scientists increasingly believe that these lunar oceans are the best place to look for life in our Solar System.
However, it's possible that these alien oceans may be locked under ice up to 12 miles thick.
So Nasa needs to ensure that its aquatic explorer is tough enough to navigate this treacherous and difficult terrain.
"The ice shells covering these distant oceans serve as a window into the oceans below," said Nasa scientist Kevin Hand.
"And the chemistry of the ice could help feed life within those oceans.
"Here on Earth, the ice covering our polar oceans serves a similar role, and our team is particularly interested in what is happening where the water meets the ice."
Enceladus – the key facts
Here's what you need to know...
- Enceladus is Saturn's sixth-largest moon, with a diameter of 310 miles
- It's roughly one-tenth the size of Saturn's largest moon, Titan
- The moon is largely covered by fresh and clean ice, making it highly reflective
- This also means it's very cold, with surface temperatures at noon reaching -198C
- The moon was first discovered by British astronomer William Herschel on August 28, 1789
- But we learned much more about it after Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft fly-bys. in the 1980s
- In 2014, Nasa found evidence to suggest there was a large subsurface ocean of liquid water on Enceladus
- And in 2018, scientists discovered complex macromolecular organics on the moon's jet plumes
- This has given scientists hope for finding evidence of alien life on the moon
According to Nasa, Antarctic waters are the "closest Earth analogue"; to the seas of an icy moon.
The probe itself is three feet long, and totes two wheels that roll along beneath the ice.
It can also snap images and collect data at the all important "ice-water interface" – where life may be lurking.
"We've found that life often lives at interfaces, both the sea bottom and the ice-water interface at the top," Nasa engineer Andy Klesh said.
"Most submersibles have a challenging time investigating this area, as ocean currents might caused them to crash, or they would waste too much power maintaining position.
"BRUIE, however, uses buoyancy to remain anchored to remain anchored against the ice and is impervious to most currents.
"In addition, it can safely power down, turning on only when it needs to take a measurement, so that it can spend months observing the under-ice environment."
When it eventually travels to a distant icy moon, the BRUIE will use its scientific instruments to take measurements.
It will focus on data related to life, like levels of dissolved oxygen, water salinity, pressure and temperature.
But even with all this information, it may still be difficult to detect alien life – as it could be very different from life on Earth.
"Once we get there, we only really know how to detect life similar to that on Earth," said mechanical engineer Dan Berisford, who is also working on the project.
"So it's possible that very different microbes might be difficult to recognise."
In other news, a Nasa probe has discovered a toasty 50,000C "Wall of Fire" surrounding our Solar System.
Nasa unveiled plans earlier this month for a new space probe that will travel 92billion miles from Earth.
And an ‘alien’ grain of dust fired at Earth by ancient exploding star has been found buried in Antarctica.
Do you think Nasa will ever uncover alien life? Let us know in the comments!
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