Looking like it was straight out of a 1950s comic, the underwater droid is intended to be used to explore vast underground oceans of plants and moons.
The crazy-looking space probe, which could be used to explore the gas-giant moon Europa, would be used to look for any sign of even microscopic life.
The robot would photograph and film the planet's cavernous oceans that could be as deep as 60 miles as well as take samples.
But unlike a real squid, the rover would need to be amphibious and come out of the water to continue exploring if required.
Europa is about the size of our moon, but said to be largely filled with liquid, with a structure similar to a chocolate liqueur.
Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) at NASA Headquarters in Washington, where space 'probes' and 'rovers' begin life, said the robot resembled a squid or even an eel.
He said: "This rover would resemble an eel with a short antenna on its back that harvests power from locally changing magnetic fields.
"The goal is to enable amphibious exploration of gas-giant moons like Europa."