NASA Tests Snake-Like Robot to Search for Life in the Solar System

NASA Tests Snake-Like Robot to Search for Life in the Solar System

The American space agency NASA is testing a snake-like explorer designed to search for signs of life in hard-to-reach places.

The robot is known as the Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor, or EELS¹. NASA said the robot is equipped to move in ways that traditional explorer vehicles, called rovers, cannot. Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California are leading the development of the explorer.

EELS is built to explore on its own, without real-time human control. It is being designed to operate on land, in water and in harsh freezing conditions, NASA engineers said. The current model is now being tested in different environments. Future development will be based on how the current model performs.

The team said the idea for the snake-like robot came from NASA's desire to search for signs of life in an ocean on Saturn's moon Enceladus. That ocean is thought to exist beneath the moon's icy surface.

The current version of EELS weighs about 100 kilograms and stretches four meters long. It is made up of 10 identical pieces, called screws, which can turn in different directions. The screws use an auger² effect to move along surfaces. Parts of the robot can rise up or down to reach different places for capturing data.

The testing has involved screws made of 3D printed plastic as well as metal. The plastic screws have performed better on general surfaces, while the metal ones have been good in ice, the team said. Engineers have already tested EELS in several environments, including sand, snow and ice.

Hiro Ono is the lead investigator³ for JPL on the EELS project. He said in a statement the robot's development requires very different methods from those used for traditional spacecraft and explorers.

Ono noted⁴ that a lot of information exists about how to design a four-wheeled vehicle. "There is no textbook about how to design an autonomous⁵ snake robot to boldly go where no robot has gone before," he said. "We have to write our own. That's what we're doing now."

The developers said EELS is designed to operate on its own because of the communications delays that exist between Earth and deep space. So, the team is seeking to make the robot's technology able to sense its environment, estimate risk and travel and collect data with science instruments that are still being developed.

The team noted that it will also be important for the explorer to be able to recover on its own without human assistance when it experiences difficulties.

The project's autonomy lead researcher, Rohan Thakker, compared the EELS technology to that used in self-driving vehicles, but in a much different environment. "Imagine a car driving autonomously⁶, but there are no stop signs, no traffic signals, not even any roads. The robot has to figure out what the road is and try to follow it," Thakker said. "Then it needs to go down a 100-foot drop and not fall."

The team said, in its final form, the robot will contain 48 actuators. Actuators are devices that act as small motors for the EELS robot. The actuators are designed to give the explorer the ability to change into different forms, while operating complex machines and software systems. Thakker compared the actuators to steering⁷ wheels on a car.

JPL's Matthew Robinson is the project manager for EELS. He said the team is currently putting the most effort into developing the robot's movements and autonomous abilities. He said, later, they will consider what science instruments can be put on the EELS.

"Scientists tell us where they want to go, what they're most excited about, and we'll provide a robot that will get them there...we just have to build it," Robinson said.

Words in This Story

identical –adj. exactly the same

auger – n. a tool made of a twisted rod of metal attached to a handle, used for making large holes in wood or the ground

autonomous – adj. independent and having the ability to operate on its own

bold – adj. not frightened of danger

figure out – v. (phrasal) to find a way of doing something or solving a problem

foot –n. an English measure of distance equal to about .3 meters

motor –n. a machine that produces motion or power

steering wheel – n. a wheel in a vehicle that the driver turns in order to make the vehicle go in a particular direction

1 eels   

abbr. 电子发射器定位系统（=electronic emitter location system）

参考例句：

• Eels have been on the feed in the Lower Thames. 鳗鱼在泰晤士河下游寻食。
• She bought some eels for dinner. 她买回一些鳗鱼做晚餐。

2 auger   

n.螺丝钻，钻孔机

参考例句：

• We make a hole in the ice with an auger.我们用螺旋钻在冰上钻洞。
• Already the Snowblast's huge auger blades were engorging snow.扬雪车上庞大的钻头叶片在开始大量吞进积雪。

3 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

6 autonomously   

adv. 自律地，自治地

参考例句：

• To learn autonomously in the network environment is totally new to students. 基于网络环境下的自主学习对学生来说，是一种全新的学习方式。
• The QC-RS can operate autonomously or by remote control. QC-RS能实现自动操作或通过遥控来操作。

7 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。