A Hansel & Gretel breadcrumb-style dynamically deployed communication network paradigm using mesh topology for planetary subsurface exploration

Suitability of Silicone for Soft-Robotic Exploration of Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Ocean Worlds

“…In summary, silicone rubber (Ecoflex TM 00-30 in our case) is a robust yet pliable, easy to use material, which appears to be an excellent candidate for constructing (potentially via additive manufacturing), coating, encasing, and sealing soft robotic explorers and associated communication and sensor components (e.g., [8]) for extreme liquid environments on Earth and extraterrestrial ocean worlds, such as Europa, Titan, and Enceladus.…”

“…Subsurface oceans on planetary bodies known as ocean worlds, such as Jupiter's moon Europa (to be visited in April 2030 by NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft slated to launch in October 2024 [14]) and Saturn's moons Titan and Enceladus, have been postulated based on varying degrees of evidence since the 1980s [11], but there has been no direct confirmation to date through observation let alone in-situ exploration (e.g., [7,8]). Because these subsurface environments are largely shielded from radiation, and combined with the hypothesized presence of water, they would be prime candidate locales for astrobiological exploration, i.e., the quest for finding extant or fossilized life.…”

“…Underwater autonomous vehicles are currently dominated in design by rigid frames [15], which presents an inherent disadvantage in autonomous underwater (or other liquid) exploration due to a limited ability (or lack thereof) to bend through smaller apertures for more ambitious or extensive in-depth exploration. As more research into the development of flexible explorers, such as the PoseiDRONE [1] or the Soft Robotic Fish [10], push the boundaries of soft-robotics as a more effective paradigm for liquid environment exploration, this paper revisits experimentally the suitability of silicone rubber for constructing soft-robotic explorers (e.g., [2-4, 12, 13]), and sealing of associated communication beacons and sensor pods (e.g., [8]) -all in the context of extreme planetary liquid environments, such as the depths of Earth's oceans and extraterrestrial ocean worlds. To that effect, the elasticity, resilience at lower temperatures, re-bonding ability, chemical polarity, and electrical conductivity are reexamined.…”