Recently I wrote about plans to use a
helicopter on Mars to assist the rover. Well, NASA is thinking beyond land and air, and it is now considering the seas. The proposed target would be the methane seas of Saturn's moon Titan. Here is a
video from earlier this month showing how it would work. It appears that the video captured the media's attention, though NASA was talking about this new approach in
June of last year, stating:
We propose to develop a conceptual design of a submersible autonomous
vehicle (submarine) to explore extraterrestrial seas. Specifically, to
send a submarine to Titan’s largest northern sea, Kraken Mare. This
craft will autonomously carry out detailed scientific investigations
under the surface of Kraken Mare, providing unprecedented knowledge of
an extraterrestrial sea and expanding NASA’s existing capabilities in
planetary exploration to include in situ nautical operations. Sprawling
over some 1000 km, with depths estimated at 300 m, Kraken Mare is
comparable in size to the Great Lakes and represents an opportunity for
an unprecedented planetary exploration mission.
The approach makes perfect sense given the destination in mind. And as with helicopters, it adds a fascinating dimension to our robotic travels. I wonder what else NASA has up its sleeves.
