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posted by martyb on Sunday January 06 2019, @01:40AM   Printer-friendly
from the eat-your-heart-out,-Elon dept.

Tunneling into the Earth, mankind has reached a mere 7.5 miles total depth, taking 20 years to accomplish and still only penetrating about 1/3 of the way through the Earth's crust.

Researchers at the American Geophysical Union, however, are not satisfied and if they can't break that record on Earth, well, there are other options.

On Friday (Dec. 14) at the 2018 meeting of the American Geophysical Union, the researchers presented a proposal for a "tunnelbot" that would use nuclear power to melt a path downward through Europa's shell, "carrying a payload that can search for… evidence for extant/extinct life."

The proposed tunnelbot would deploy repeaters at depths of 5, 10 and 15km to relay information. Well past the depth of any hole ever drilled on Earth, and hopefully reaching the Jovian moon's inferred liquid saltwater ocean at an estimated depth of between 10-30km

I wonder if it will need bumpers on the sides like things closer to home?


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  • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday January 06 2019, @05:09AM (1 child)

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Sunday January 06 2019, @05:09AM (#782682) Homepage Journal

    You must be new here (Earth). First we figure out how to destroy things, then we look at any other interesting aspects of them.

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  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday January 07 2019, @07:20PM

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Monday January 07 2019, @07:20PM (#783306) Journal

    First figure out how to destroy things, then figure out how to do so more efficiently.

    Idea: A Nuclear Tunnelbot melts through Europa's ice. This environmental disaster triggers an interplanetary war. Europa Is A Harsh Mistress. Hey if they can burn holes through our protective ice covering, we can destroy their ozone layer.

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