The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is determined to explore the solar system for signs of life, and they have set their eyes on ocean worlds like Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus. As a matter of fact, NASA is on its way to turning this vision to reality by developing an underwater rover, which they call BRUIE.
THE KEY IS IN THE BUOYANCY
NASA's underwater rover BRUIE or Buoyant Rover for Under-Ice Exploration is specifically designed to survive the thick ice environments of extraterrestrial water worlds. It is designed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory located at Pasadena in California to explain and give light to the activities in these ocean worlds.
In order for the BRUIE to be successful in its mission, the engineers designed it to buoyant and upside down. This will keep the prover pressed against the ceiling of ice. The development is underway in the Antarctic at Australia's Casey Research Station to test its endurance by undergoing paces. These tests will focus on sending the rover to an interface area where the ice meets the water. This is an important step since Europa and Enceladus have massive ice-water interface areas. These areas can have very dynamic chemistry because of the dissolved impurities being rejected from an advancing ice front.
Scientists focus their effort on ocean worlds such as Europa and Enceladus because of the hypothesis that water can be the gateway to life as experienced on Earth where the majority of life forms are highly concentrated near water.
If it becomes successful in approaching these water worlds, BRUIE can help scientists learn a lot about the topography of the underside of the ice found in these satellites, including how they were formed and its effects on the immediate environment since the ice have the ability to trap gases either from biological or geological processes.
According to Kevin Hand, lead scientist in the development of BRUIE, the lunar oceans will be the perfect location to seek signs of life. In a press release, he explains, "The ice shells covering these distant oceans serve as a window into the oceans below, and the chemistry of the ice could help feed the life within those oceans. Here on Earth, the ice covering our polar oceans serves a similar role, and our team is particularly interested in what is happening where the water meets the ice." He also explained that life can often be found at the interfaces, which can be a little difficult to explore that's why a submarine-like vehicle is not the best choice for this mission. According to engineer Andy Klesh, most submersibles on Earth have encountered difficulties in areas such as the bottom of the ocean or the ice-water interface at the surface because of the ocean current that might lead them to be crashed or use too much power to be just able to stay in position. These are the issues they tackled in designing and the development of the BRUIE.
The scientist behind the development of the underwater rover designed BRUIE to be buoyant to remain anchored against the ice and will remain unbothered by the harsh currents. The BRUIE is only a meter long and equipped with two wheels, which will enable it to move underneath the ice.
BRUIE might be small but is well equipped: the scientists installed cameras, lights, and communication equipment for scientists to monitor the rover and collect data. If the initial testing goes well for the BRUIE, the engineers will then add scientific equipment for further data gathering. In a statement, mechanical engineer Dan Berisford explained, "BRUIE will carry several science instruments to measure parameters related to life such as dissolved oxygen, water salinity and pressure, and temperature." Berisford also explains that this is a fairly new beginning for the team. He explains that the team only knows how to identify life forms that are similar to Earth and may face difficulties in recognizing alien microbe that they may find.