DESIGN AND DEPLOYMENT OF A 3D AUTONOMOUS SUBTERRANEAN SUBMARINE EXPLORATION VEHICLE William C. Stone, Stone Aerospace / PSC, Inc. 3511 Caldwell Lane, Del Valle, TX 78617, Ph: (512) 247-6385,
[email protected] ABSTRACT likely include the following components: The NASA Deep Phreatic Thermal Explorer • the parent spacecraft, which will remain in orbit (DEPTHX) project is developing a fully autonomous either about Jupiter or about Europa and which will underwater vehicle intended as a prototype of primarily serve as a data relay back to Earth from the the Europa lander third stage that will search for Lander. microbial life beneath the ice cap of that Jovian • the Lander, which will be a 3-stage device: moon. DEPTHX has two principal objectives: First, to develop and test in an appropriate environment Stage 1: the physical landing system that will contain the ability for an un-tethered robot to explore into propulsion systems, power, and data relay systems to unknown 3D territory, to make a map of what it sees, communicate with the orbiter, and which will control and to use that map to return home; and second, to and carry out the descent and automated landing on demonstrate that science autonomy behaviors can the moon. identify likely zones for the existence of microbial life, to command an autonomous maneuvering Stage 2: the “cryobot” second stage, which will melt platform to move to those locations, conduct localized a hole through up to ten kilometers of ice cap before searches, and to autonomously collect microbial reaching the sub-surface liquid ocean. Although the life in an aqueous environment.