Looking ahead to exploring inside some of the other planets and satellites in the solar system, here is a proposal for a multi-jointed snake robot https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-65245054 with a video animation available from the BBC, https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-65245054
Here's a snip,
The EELS initiative comes in the backdrop of discoveries made by the Cassini probe, which explored Saturn, its rings, and moons for nearly 13 years. The iconic mission ended in September 2017 when the spacecraft crashed into Saturn's atmosphere.
The remarkable discovery of plumes of water vapor ejected into space by Saturn's tiny icy moon Enceladus prompted the development of this EELS snake robot. This raised the possibility of a habitable liquid ocean beneath the moon's frozen crust and piqued the space community's interest in exploring this moon.
Coming soon to theaters, the sequel, "AI Snakes on a Plane" ??
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 17, @08:16PM (1 child)
I'm waiting for the mechanical sand worms of unusual size that you can ride across the martian deserts.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday April 18, @02:04PM
Only works, if you can find Spice on Mars. I'm guessing that's not going to happen.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Freeman on Monday April 17, @09:47PM (3 children)
Not sure what planatery is, but I'm guessing typo?
The concept image is very interesting. I'm just curious about the longevity of a snake robot. Lots of moving parts means lots of failure points. You're also putting wear and tear on nearly the whole length of the thing. Real snakes don't have such an issue, because they regenerate their skin and shed the old layer.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 17, @10:09PM (1 child)
> Lots of moving parts means lots of failure points.
Turn that around and it could also be lots of redundancy. One joint stops working, the others next to it compensate?
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday April 18, @02:03PM
It's possible that one could make a robust robot snake, it's just very far outside the box kind of thinking. Which makes me believe the thing will live in concept form and never be realized. Still, with the likes of SpaceX and other cheap rocket trips to space, hopefully we'll get a lot more experimentation.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 3, Funny) by krishnoid on Monday April 17, @10:28PM
Real snakes have other issues, as seen in this prequel [youtu.be].