Gliding Snakes Inspire Scientists To Design Future Flying Robots That Will Explore the Moon and Beyond

Researchers used computational analysis from data obtained through high-speed video of flying snakes to study the gliding techniques of paradise tree snakes for potential robot guidance as NASA plans to send a small army of robots and rovers to the Moon and possibly beyond for space exploration.

Paradise tree snakes (Chrysopelea paradise) are unique serpents that can "fly" through the air after launching themselves from tree branches, as per Popular Science. They are commonly found in Southeast Asia and flatten their bodies to become more aerodynamic, undulating in a specific pattern to glide as far as 25 meters in a single flight.

How Do Paradise Snakes Glide?

According to Phys.org, researchers from the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech explored the lift-production mechanism of flying snakes. The team studied the serpent's cross-sectional shape, which looks like an elongated frisbee or flying disk. Its shape plays an important role in the snake to glide successfully into the air.

Like a frisbee, the spinning disk creates an increased air pressure below the disk and suction on the top that lifts it into the air. In the case of the paradise snake, it undulates side to side to produce a low-pressure region above its back and a high-pressure beneath its belly. In that way, the snake lifts itself and glides smoothly through the air.

Study author Haibo Dong explained that the snake's horizontal undulation creates a series of major vortex structures, such as leading edge vortices (LEV) and trailing edge vortices (TEV). The formation and development of the LEV on the back of the snake play an important role in producing lift.LEVs form near the head and the back but hold for longer intervals at the curves of the serpent's body.

These curves are formed during undulation, which is key to understanding lift.The group also considered the angle of attack the snake forms with the oncoming airflow and frequency of undulations to see how it affects their glide. They found that more rapid undulation decreases aerodynamic performance.

Dong said that the general trend they saw is that a frequency increase leads to instability in the vortex structure as it causes some vortex tubes to spin, detaching from the surface and ending up with a decrease in lift.

The team discussed their findings in full in the study, titled "Computational Analysis of Vortex Dynamics and Aerodynamic Performance in Flying-snake-Like Gliding Flight With Horizontal Undulation," published in the journal Physics of Fluids.

Robots on the Moon

NASA has been planning to put humans back on the Moon and the success of the Artemis I mission has only put them one step closer to their goal. But going back there means robots are going to be an enormous part of the mission as it will be instilled in everything there, as per National Geographic.

The American space agency is targeting the rough terrain and potentially ice-rich craters of the lunar south pole, which is different from the Apollo missions that landed on the smooth, flat equatorial surface. These rough terrains have permanently shadowed regions in their inner bowls that likely harbor frozen water, a critical resource for long-term space exploration.

NASA said that water could be used to support astronauts and help protect them from dangerous bursts of radiation. Hydrogen atoms in water can deflect high-energy particles without breaking into more damaging secondary radiation.

However, the craters are not easy to explore given their steep, sheer walls and pocked pits and chambers formed from ancient lava flows. More so, temperatures over 450 degrees Fahrenheit and super cold climates make it impossible to harness solar power.

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