Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor (EELS)

Ono, Masahiro; Carpenter, Kalind; Cable, Morgan L.; Wilcox, Brian; Tosi, L. Phillipe

doi:10.1061/9780784483374.033

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Also, this form factor meets the scientific payload compartment requirements of the Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor (EELS), , or melt probes that could explore ocean worlds in the future. ,− Figure shows the CAD rendering, block diagram, and photograph of the prototype.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…During the Cassini mission, organic compounds and evidence of subsurface hydrothermal activity were observed in plume material ejected from Enceladus. , As a result, the most recent Decadal Survey prioritizes missions to Enceladus, ,, including flyby missions to capture and analyze the materials ejected in plumes and landed surface missions to analyze material in situ . , This would enable direct analysis of samples from Enceladus for organic biosignatures using in situ analytical chemistry methods. In the future, long-range mission planning to Enceladus could include robotic explorers that could rove on the surface, explore cracks, and potentially penetrate the icy crust of the moon to explore the subsurface ocean. , …”

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confidence: 99%

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Submersible Capillary Electrophoresis Analyzer: A Proof-of-Concept Demonstration of an In Situ Instrument for Future Missions to Ocean Worlds

et al. 2023

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We report here the first fully automated capillary electrophoresis (CE) system that can be operated underwater. The system performs sample acquisition and analysis by coupling CE to contactless conductivity detection. Using 5 M acetic acid as the background electrolyte (BGE), inorganic cations and amino acids at concentrations as low as 5.2 μM can be separated and identified. This technology could be augmented to include a variety of other detection modes. This system serves as an early prototype for potential future underwater explorers on ocean worlds of the outer solar system such as Europa or Enceladus. This work documents the first step in the development of this general-purpose technology platform.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 92%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Submersible Capillary Electrophoresis Analyzer: A Proof-of-Concept Demonstration of an In Situ Instrument for Future Missions to Ocean Worlds

et al. 2023

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“…9. The experimental process and results of screw-locomotion characterization over multiple media is of significance to multi-domain robotic platforms operating autonomously, such as the ARCSnake [8] and the EELS successor [7], where a wide range of media may be encountered and where communication to a human operator may be all but non-existent. the longitudinal slip.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One proposed method that shows great potential in navigating many different types of media is screw-propulsion [6]. In fact, the ARCsnake robot, which combines screw propulsion with a snake-like backbone, shows the concept for a robotic platform proposal for a NASA mission to search for extant life in the subterranean ocean of Saturn's Moon, Enceladus [7], due to its multidomain mobility capabilities [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobility Analysis of Screw-Based Locomotion and Propulsion in Various Media

Lim¹,

Calvin²,

Peiros³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Robots "in-the-wild" encounter and must traverse widely varying terrain, ranging from solid ground to granular materials like sand to full liquids. Numerous approaches exist, including wheeled and legged robots, each excelling in specific domains. Screw-based locomotion is a promising approach for multi-domain mobility, leveraged in exploratory robotic designs, including amphibious vehicles and snake robotics. However, unlike other forms of locomotion, there is a limited exploration of the models, parameter effects, and efficiency for multi-terrain Archimedes screw locomotion. In this work, we present work towards this missing component in understanding screw-based locomotion: comprehensive experimental results and performance analysis across different media. We designed a mobile test bed for indoor and outdoor experimentation to collect this data. Beyond quantitatively showing the multidomain mobility of screw-based locomotion, we envision future researchers and engineers using the presented results to design effective screw-based locomotion systems.

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“…At Enceladus, NASA's Cassini spacecraft detected organics, salts, and hydrothermal alteration products in plume materials venting from subsurface reservoirs, suggesting a possibly habitable interior ocean (Postberg et al 2011;Hsu et al 2015;Waite et al 2017). Subsequent mission concept studies have demonstrated the feasibility for orbital missions (Reh et al 2016;Mitri et al 2018), combination orbiter/lander missions (MacKenzie et al 2021), ocean access via active plumes (Carpenter et al 2021), and instrumented platforms (Aguzzi et al 2020) to characterize the environment and search for life. Enceladus's unique plume dynamics may provide a natural means for preliminary sampling of subsurface materials without requiring a subsurface mission.…”

Section: Broader Ocean World Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subsurface Science and Search for Life in Ocean Worlds

et al. 2023

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Several worlds in our solar system are thought to hold oceans of liquid water beneath their frozen surfaces. These subsurface ice and ocean environments are promising targets in the search for life beyond Earth, but they also present significant new technical challenges to planetary exploration. With a focus on Jupiter’s moon Europa, here we (1) identify major benefits and challenges to subsurface ocean world science, (2) provide a multidisciplinary survey of relevant sample handling and life detection technologies, and (3) integrate those perspectives into the Subsurface Science and Search for Life in Ocean Worlds (SSSLOW) concept payload. We discuss scientific goals across three complementary categories: (1) search for life, (2) assess habitability, and (3) investigate geological processes. Major mission challenges considered include submerged operation in high-pressure environments, the need to sample fluids with a range of possible chemical conditions, and detection of biosignatures at low concentrations. The SSSLOW addresses these issues by tightly integrated instrumentation and sample handling systems to enable sequential, complementary measurements while prioritizing preservation of sample context. In this work, we leverage techniques and technologies across several fields to demonstrate a path toward future subsurface exploration and life detection in ice and ocean worlds.

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Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor (EELS)

Cited by 8 publications

References 31 publications

Submersible Capillary Electrophoresis Analyzer: A Proof-of-Concept Demonstration of an In Situ Instrument for Future Missions to Ocean Worlds

Submersible Capillary Electrophoresis Analyzer: A Proof-of-Concept Demonstration of an In Situ Instrument for Future Missions to Ocean Worlds

Mobility Analysis of Screw-Based Locomotion and Propulsion in Various Media

Subsurface Science and Search for Life in Ocean Worlds

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