An ultrashort baseline transceiver is lowered into the water once ENDURANCE submerges and emits signals that give the autonomous vessel a point of reference. This aids the vessel's mapping mission and also helps the researchers retrieve their robot sub. A malfunction that might cause ENDURANCE to get lost or be unable to make its way back to the entry hole would be disastrous due to the harsh conditions in which it operates. "When you put something in a lake in Antarctica, you don't want to lose it," says John Rummel, a NASA senior scientist for astrobiology.
ENDURANCE is a follow-up to the Deep Phreatic Thermal explorer (DEPTHX) , a NASA-funded project led by StoneAerospace, Inc., a Del Valle, Tex.based maker of technology used to explore the ocean depths as well as deep space. DEPTHX last year underwent extensive underwater field tests in Mexico, and its success has paved the way for ENDURANCE's missions.
Whereas the DEPTHX was tested in waters that were a balmy 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius), ENDURANCE will encounter 32-degree F (0-degree C) conditions in Lake Bonney, whose stratified waters contain both fresh- and salt- water. Nearest its surface, Bonney has a layer of about 16 feet (five meters) of freshwater atop about 110 feet (33.5 meters) of saltwater, the latter of which is three times as saline as normal seawater, Rummel says. This increased saltiness will cause ENDURANCE's sonar waves to behave differently, bouncing upward more than they would in fresh or less briny water.
NASA's otherworldly aspirations for ENDURANCE include a trip to Europa, which Rummel says the agency hopes to pull off within in two decades. ENDURANCE has to prove its mettle on Earth, however, before it is ready to dive under Europa's ocean, which features up to 12 miles (20 kilometers) of ice atop water that could be around 62 miles (100 kilometers) deep. Once there, ENDURANCE could play a very special role in space exploration, Rummel says, adding, "It could very well be the first vehicle to find extraterrestrial life."
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8 Comments
Add CommentOn Earth, every 33 feet (10 meters) adds a bar of pressure. Any know how deep add a bar of pressure with Europa lesser gravity?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAccording to Wikipedia, g on Europa is about .134 g on earth. So instead of 33 feet, I guess about 240 feet per bar. Still, 12 miles is a long way down.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBut here's the question I have: Are there guys with chainsaws and a working GPS system on Europa? :-)
In other words, how are they going to get this thing under the ice?
that is some bit of kit! and sooo cute! :-x
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisregardless of if it makes it off planet, it's going to be very useful for underwater mapping right here. the navigation system described in the 'mission' link sounds very impressive. how come nasa get all the good toys?
What about the warning from the movie "2010" ?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS EXCEPT EUROPA
ATTEMPT NO LANDING THERE USE THEM TOGETHER
USE THEM IN PEACE"
8-)
What about the warning from the movie "2010" ????
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS EXCEPT EUROPA
ATTEMPT NO LANDING THERE USE THEM TOGETHER
USE THEM IN PEACE"
8-)
i assume the device to bore through the ice is being developed
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisi assume the device to bore through is being developed
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWow - they build a submarine!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBut what is that about? How do those guys intent to bring their enourmous machine to Europa, through kilometers of ice to a bottom of a 100km deep ocean?
And such mission is gonna "pull off within two decades"!
NASA is not serioulsy financing something like that?