Cryobots: an answer to subsurface mobility in planetary icy environments

Exploration of the deep subsurface ice sheets of Earth, Mars, Europa, and Callisto has become a major consideration in addressing scientific objectives in climate change, extremophile biology, chemical weathering, mineralogy, planetary evolution and ice dynamics. Similar exploration on Earth has been accomplished through ice coring, for chemical, biological, and crystallographic analysis, and sounding radar, for structural analysis [1]. The results from these studies have elucidated the temporal circulation history of climate change on Earth. For some applications, coring and remote sensing techniques are not optimal; these applications include situations in which the ice cores are too warm for successful core retrieval, investigations that require strict sterilization [2], and planetary environments for which in-situ observations are the only measurements technologically possible. We will discuss scientific goals, design issues, and test results including the fluid dynamics of hot-water jetting, approaches to maintaining vertical attitude, and tether management.

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