ROVs/Submersibles/Diving Archives

Circles denote the location of eDNA samples collected and preserved by the ESP onboard Surveyor during its ~4200-km transit over 29 days (June 10–July 9, 2021) from San Francisco to the Hawaiian Islands. Transit across oceanographic domains, from the California Current upwelling system to the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, is represented by sea surface temperature (SST) from satellite remote sensing. Shown is the June 2021 average of multiscale ultra-high resolution (MUR) SST Analysis fv04.1, acquired from https://coastwatch.pfeg.noaa.gov/erddap/index.html.

Analog Studies, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ocean Planet Exploration Droids: Autonomous eDNA Collection Using An Uncrewed Surface Vessel

by Keith CowingNovember 30, 2024November 30, 2024

The collection of environmental DNA (eDNA) samples is often laborious, costly, and logistically difficult to accomplish at high frequency in remote locations and over large geographic areas.

Dale Anderson's live webcast from Lake Untersee, Antarctica - Dale Andersen/SETI Institute

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Dale Andersen's Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Video, Audio, Webcasts, Podcasts, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 20 November 2024: Live From Antarctica (webcast)

by Keith CowingNovember 22, 2024January 11, 2026

Keith’s note: Astrobiologist Dale Andersen is back in Antarctica at Lake Untersee in October-December 2024 for another field season of research (preview). Dale’s work is coordinated through the SETI Institute. We’ll be posting […]

SWIM Submersible Droid Prototypes -- NASA Larger image

Enceladus, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

NASA’s SWIM Submersible Droid Prototypes

by Keith CowingNovember 22, 2024November 22, 2024

Two prototypes for a NASA mission concept called SWIM (short for Sensing With Independent Micro-swimmers) are arranged beside a much smaller nonfunctioning model representing the final envisioned size of the […]

A prototype of a robot designed to explore subsurface oceans of icy moons is reflected in the water’s surface during a pool test at Caltech in September. Conducted by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the testing showed the feasibility of a mission concept for a swarm of mini swimming robots. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Cryobiology, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Icy Ocean World Explorers For Future Astrobiology Missions

by Keith CowingNovember 20, 2024

When NASA’s Europa Clipper reaches its destination in 2030, the spacecraft will prepare to aim an array of powerful science instruments toward Jupiter’s moon Europa during 49 flybys, looking for […]

Digging Deeper to Find Life on Ocean Worlds – Conceptual image of a cryobot breaching into the ocean of Europa and searching for signs of life. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Cryobiology, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report

Travel Times of a Descending Melting Probe on Europa

by Keith CowingNovember 19, 2024November 19, 2024

In this study, we calculated the travel times of a thermal probe that descends through Europa’s ice shell. The ice column is simplified to a conductive layer.

Setup of test methods. Onboard sample analysis in the developed subsystem. -- Scientific Reports via PubMed

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Space Life Science, Tricorders & Sensors

A Multiple Biomolecules-based Rapid Life Detection Protocol Embedded In A Rover Scientific Subsystem For Soil Sample Analysis

by Keith CowingNovember 18, 2024November 18, 2024

The study of whether life exists, is extinct, or not depends on various sophisticated experimental studies, as many different signatures of life can be used. The experimental procedures that can […]

MBARI researchers have described a remarkable new species of nudibranch from the depths of the midnight zone. Nicknamed the “mystery mollusc,” Bathydevius caudactylus swims with a fingered tail, uses a cavernous hood to capture food, and glows with brilliant bioluminescence. Image: © 2014 MBARI

Away Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

MBARI Researchers Discover A New Life Form DEEP In The Sea

by Keith CowingNovember 18, 2024November 18, 2024

MBARI researchers have discovered a remarkable new species of sea slug that lives in the deep sea. Bathydevius caudactylus swims through the ocean’s midnight zone with a large gelatinous hood […]

An individual submarine chimney at a depth of roughly 30 m. -- Science of The Total Environment

Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

White Smokers On The Floor Of The Dead Sea

by Keith CowingNovember 15, 2024November 15, 2024

The Dead Sea is a highly dynamic system: Its level has been dropping by roughly one meter per year for more than 50 years, because it is cut off from […]

Today at Lake Untersee, while starting a dive hole, we struck a pocket of air (N2, O2, Ar) trapped just beneath the ice.

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Dale Andersen's Field Reports, Enceladus, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 14 November 2024: The Plumes of Enceladus

by Keith CowingNovember 14, 2024January 11, 2026

Schematic deposit model showing formation of hydrothermal Fe- and Mn-oxide deposits at depth along faults during the Neogene (∼8.5–4.8 Ma) from ascending hydrothermal fluids driven by frictional heating and other fault-related processes; the deposits may have experienced minor uplift along faults during the Neogene and Quaternary, and variably exposed as seafloor outcrops predominantly by sediment slumping, rock falls, and other gravity-driven processes. Hydrogenetic Fe-Mn crusts formed at the seabed on all rock outcrops predominantly from dissolved and colloidal phases in ambient bottom seawater characterized by elements such as Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, REY, Sc, and others; the Fe-Mn crusts and sediments also acquired minor contributions from distal hydrothermal fluids characterized by Hg, As, and others, mostly volatile elements, which were incorporated into the crusts by sorption process on the framework Fe and Mn oxides and in the sediments by organic matter and Fe and Mn oxides—these low-temperature fluids have continued through the Quaternary. It is unknown whether the deep-seated hydrothermal deposits continued to form post-Neogene, which could be determined by additional dating. The base map cross-section is from Nikishin et al. (2021). larger image. -- USGS

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return

Marine Mineral Formations in the Arctic Ocean Challenge Existing Geologic Theories

by Keith CowingNovember 13, 2024November 13, 2024

A new study from USGS describes a previously unknown process of marine mineral formation in the Arctic Ocean, driven by frictional heating along tectonic faults rather than by hydrothermal activity.

ROVs/Submersibles/Diving

Ocean Planet Exploration Droids: Autonomous eDNA Collection Using An Uncrewed Surface Vessel

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 20 November 2024: Live From Antarctica (webcast)

NASA’s SWIM Submersible Droid Prototypes

Icy Ocean World Explorers For Future Astrobiology Missions

Travel Times of a Descending Melting Probe on Europa

A Multiple Biomolecules-based Rapid Life Detection Protocol Embedded In A Rover Scientific Subsystem For Soil Sample Analysis

MBARI Researchers Discover A New Life Form DEEP In The Sea

White Smokers On The Floor Of The Dead Sea

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 14 November 2024: The Plumes of Enceladus

Marine Mineral Formations in the Arctic Ocean Challenge Existing Geologic Theories

Mystery Surrounding The Formation Of Asteroid Bennu Solved

Scientists Uncover Gravity’s Impact On The Human Genome

Discovery Of Radio Emission From The Exoplanet β Pictoris b

Could Earth’s Magnetic Field Influence How Earth Life Ages?

Is A Nearby Advanced Alien Civilization Out There Waiting To Pounce On Earth? Unlikely, Says New Study