When NASA’s Europa Clipper arrives at Jupiter’s moon Europa in 2030, it will conduct 49 flybys, using a suite of powerful scientific instruments to search for evidence that the ocean beneath Europa’s icy crust could support life. The spacecraft, which launched on October 14, is equipped with the most advanced science technology ever sent to the outer solar system. Yet, even as it begins its mission, NASA teams are already designing the next generation of robotic explorers to dive deeper into Europa’s hidden ocean and beyond, pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery.
One such innovative concept is called SWIM, short for Sensing With Independent Micro-swimmers. This project imagines deploying a swarm of tiny, self-propelled robots, each about the size of a cellphone. These robots would be delivered to the subsurface ocean by an ice-melting cryobot. Once released, they would scatter and explore, searching for chemical and temperature signals that could point to the presence of life.
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