Bionic robots take action, how weird will alien probes be?

Recently, NASA unveiled a snake-like robot that is currently under development, which is expected to travel to Enceladus and explore the ice layer. Considering that the climate and geographical conditions of alien planets are very different from those on Earth, what unique designs might the probes adopt to complete their missions? And what tricks will they show to adapt to the new environment?

Robot snake challenges the ice world

This American snake-like robot has an important mission. Its scientific name is "Cosmic Biological Existing Life Surveyor". As the name suggests, its core mission is to explore the unknown world under the ice layer on the surface of Enceladus to verify whether life on Earth is alone in the universe.

Recent studies have shown that the ocean of Enceladus is likely to contain all six basic elements for the birth of life, and the ice layer of Enceladus contains amino acids, the basic substances that constitute life. Therefore, scientists have long been interested in whether there is life in the internal ocean of Enceladus. Based on the current deep space exploration results, Enceladus is considered to be one of the most likely extraterrestrial planets to have life.

However, after the probe has gone through untold hardships to reach the surface of Enceladus, it still needs to overcome unfathomable ice cracks (where plumes containing organic molecules are ejected into space), travel through maze-like ice tunnels, and even explore unknown underground oceans to uncover the "mystery" of life. These tasks are difficult for conventional rovers to accomplish, so it is necessary for researchers to draw on the results of bionics. After all, the earth's landforms are rich and diverse, and the body shapes of various animals have evolved to adapt to specific environments, often passing the test of hundreds of millions of years.

As the first generation of snake-like robots planned to explore alien planets, the "Cosmic Biology Existing Life Surveyor" is about 4 meters long and weighs about 100 kilograms. Its trunk is composed of 10 identical rotating segments, and the outside is covered with 3D printed "snake skin" with spiral edges to obtain good adhesion on the smooth ice surface. In addition, it is reported that this robot snake has a certain self-repair ability and will try to escape from danger on its own when necessary. It is likely to use memory metal and has emergency procedures similar to the gecko's tail-breaking survival.

Although NASA has not disclosed much key information, we can speculate that the level of artificial intelligence of the robot snake has made significant progress. On the unfamiliar Enceladus, the robot snake will encounter unexpected difficulties and dangers almost all the time. Due to the long distance, it takes more than an hour for radio signals to be transmitted one-way between Saturn and Earth. Obviously, the Earth team does not have enough time to remotely control the robot snake. In this way, the robot snake must have strong environmental perception, self-discrimination and judgment capabilities, and autonomous decision-making and action capabilities.

To this end, researchers have equipped the robot snake with four pairs of stereo cameras and laser radars, which can use laser pulses to create a 3D map of the surrounding environment to ensure real-time perception. With the help of digital maps and advanced algorithms, it can assess the danger level of the planned route and find the safest way forward. The robot snake is currently being tested in glaciers and volcanic areas on Earth. If it can adapt to more complex mission terrains on the surface of alien planets in the future, it will be a new breakthrough in artificial intelligence in the field of space exploration.

Bionic robots are even more amazing

Giant mechanical scorpions rushing out of the sand dunes, mechanical birds whistling down, mechanical dinosaurs running and howling... These exciting scenes that can only be seen in science fiction movies and TV shows may appear on distant planets in the future. However, what they bring to the alien planets is not bloody killings, but the unremitting self-improvement of mankind in space exploration.

Today, unmanned helicopters hover over Mars from time to time, and foreign researchers are drawing on the results of bionics to develop probes that are more adapted to the Martian environment. In 2018, NASA launched the "Mars Bee" project, a miniature simulation robot that is similar in size to a real bee and can dock on a flat surface the size of a fingernail, but its wings are more like cicada wings, which can better utilize the lift of thin air and fly more energy-efficiently.

With the advancement of microelectronics technology, the miniaturization of equipment has progressed significantly, and lightweight robot bees can undertake basic observation tasks. In the future, after landing on Mars, a group of dozens of robot bees can disperse and explore the surrounding areas according to the program, focusing on detecting large caves on the surface of Mars and looking for potential traces of microorganisms. Obviously, at the same cost, more robot bees are "omnipresent" and have better adaptability to special environments such as caves, which is more cost-effective than large rovers in performing tasks.

Alien rovers are always on guard against the ubiquitous gravel and potholes, and their forward speed is slow, so it is necessary to get rid of the "constraints". Multi-rotor drones that borrow the hovering skills of insects or birds, gliding inflatable probes that draw on the streamlined body of manta rays... Many solutions have sprung up like mushrooms after rain.

If researchers have concerns about whether the atmosphere of an alien planet can support the stable flight of the probe, they may be able to lower the requirements and simply let the probe "jump up."

Many countries' lunar exploration programs include jumping probes, which are often only the size of a baseball or fist. Some use a titanium alloy single-leg structure, with a leg shape that imitates a grasshopper, and can jump up to more than 1 meter high and move horizontally at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour. Some emphasize reliability more, similar to some seabed creatures, using the protruding end of the sphere to generate force, bounce a little higher, and roll forward after falling.

As the structural design, materials, power and other conditions become more perfect, the jumping detector can try a large-scale solution. Foreign countries have demonstrated the so-called "machine kangaroo", which is the size of a suitcase, jumps up to 5 meters, and has a horizontal speed of nearly 40 kilometers per hour. This solution puts forward higher requirements for terrain detection capabilities, power, and impact resistance.

In the future, artificial intelligence technology and bionics will join forces to give a stronger boost to space exploration. As humans accumulate enough information about the complex terrain of alien planets, if materials science and shaping technology achieve major breakthroughs, new concept probes may be able to make intelligent and autonomous decisions and transform into different machine creatures based on different landforms and climate conditions after reaching the target planet.

When encountering the ocean, the robot dolphins swim and leap; when encountering the mountains, the robot falcons spread their wings and fly; when encountering the plains, the robot horses travel a thousand miles at a time; when encountering the forests, the robot monkeys climb and jump; even when encountering mysterious creatures, multiple small and medium-sized detectors quickly combine into large ones such as robot Tyrannosaurus Rex and robot mammoth, roaring a few times to scare away potential threats... In short, the 72 transformations of Sun Wukong were considered myths by the ancients, but they may become reality in the future, helping humans explore alien planets more efficiently. (Author: Sun Fei)