The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is developing a snake-like robot to help boost space exploration and find whether life exists away from Earth. More specifically, it is designed as such so that it can reach the surface of Enceladus, one of Saturn's 83 moons, and examine its icy features, New York Post reported.
The robot called EELS, the Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor, will look for water and life-supporting evidence on the surface of Enceladus, the sixth-largest moon of Saturn.
According to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, ''the EELS system is a mobile instrument platform conceived to explore internal terrain structures, assess habitability and ultimately search for evidence of life. It is designed to be adaptable to traverse ocean-world-inspired terrain, fluidized media, enclosed labyrinthian environments and liquids.''
It is believed the icy surface of Enceladus is relatively smooth, and temperatures are greater than 300 degrees Fahrenheit below zero. Scientists also have been suspecting that huge amounts of water may lie underneath its icy surface. According to data from the Cassini spacecraft, the plumes erupting from its surface are conduits directly to liquid water, potentially making this the easiest path to a habitable liquid ocean.
Further, the adaptability of the EELS system can also explore Martial polar caps and descending crevasses in the Earth's ice sheets.
''The EELS is a snake-like, self-propelled robot made of multiple, identical, segments containing both the actuation and propulsion mechanisms as well as the power and communication electronics to drive them. EELS uses first-of-a-kind rotating propulsion units that act as tracks, gripping mechanisms and propeller units underwater, enabling the robot to access a plume vent exit and follow it to its ocean source, '' a description of the robot reads.
NASA has not set a launch date for the EELS project, meaning any mission is likely years away. If the launch of the 16-foot-long robot is successful, it could lead to a deeper exploration of celestial bodies that were once considered unattainable.
