ROVs/Submersibles/Diving Archives

One of pur DataGarrison climate stations, situated at the top of the peninsula just behind our camp. While the station has a vantage point over both the north and south basins of Lake Untersee, this photo captures the view looking south across the southern basin. -- Dale Andersen

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, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 11 December 2024: Back at Novo Station

by Keith CowingDecember 11, 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 […]

An Ocean World - Somewhere -- Grok via Astrobiology.com

Astrobiology (general), Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, NASA Astrobiology Program, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Marine Science Can Contribute to the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life

by Keith CowingDecember 9, 2024December 9, 2024

Life on our planet likely evolved in the ocean, and thus exo-oceans are key habitats to search for extraterrestrial life.

Artist’s concept image of a spacecraft lander with a robot arm on the surface of Europa. Credits: NASA/JPL – Caltech

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

Towards Autonomous Surface Missions on Ocean Worlds

by Keith CowingDecember 7, 2024December 7, 2024

Through advanced autonomy testbed programs, NASA is setting the groundwork for one of its top priorities—the search for signs of life and potentially habitable bodies in our solar system and […]

Underwater survey of the bottom of Enigma Lake made at depth 22.5 m -- Nature

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ice-covered Lake Enigma In Antarctica Supports Unique Microbial Communities

by Keith CowingDecember 4, 2024December 4, 2024

Northern Foothills of Victoria Land, Antarctica contains numerous hydrological formations, ranging from small surface streams and ponds fed by glacial or snow meltwater to permafrost lakes containing briny pockets.

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

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

by Keith CowingNovember 22, 2024January 11, 2026

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 […]

ROVs/Submersibles/Diving

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 11 December 2024: Back at Novo Station

Marine Science Can Contribute to the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life

Towards Autonomous Surface Missions on Ocean Worlds

Ice-covered Lake Enigma In Antarctica Supports Unique Microbial Communities

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

Inspecting A Dragonfly Mass Spectrometer (DRAMS) Transducer

NASA Explores Potential Commercial Servicing for Hubble Telescope

The Fate of Ice Sheets on Near-Synchronously Rotating Land Planets

Extraterrestrial Chemical Boundary Conditions and Evolutionary Opportunity Space on Early Earth

Complex Organic Molecules in Protostars with ALMA Spectral Surveys (COMPASS) III. CH3OH isotopic fractionation in the low-mass protostar BHR71-IRS1