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RandomFactor [soylentnews.org] writes:

NASA has begun testing an aquatic rover designed to rove under the ice [universetoday.com] on worlds like Enceladus and Europa.

The "Bouyant Rover for Under-Ice Exploration" or BRUIE does not swim, but rather

It’s a wheeled vehicle designed to drive upside down on ice sheets. BRUIE is buoyant, which keeps it pressed against the ice ceiling.

BRUIE is currently in the Antarctic, at Australia’s Casey Research Station [wikipedia.org]. During the next month, operators will put it through its paces, testing its endurance in anticipation of a future mission to an icy ocean world, likely Europa [universetoday.com]. The testing will focus on interface areas, where the ice sheet meets water.

This is a good place for the three foot (1 meter) long wheeled rover to investigate according to Andy Klesh, lead engineer on the BRUIE project:

We’ve found that life often lives at interfaces, both the sea bottom and the ice-water interface at the top. Most submersibles have a challenging time investigating this area, as ocean currents might cause them to crash, or they would waste too much power maintaining position, [...] BRUIE, however, uses buoyancy to remain anchored against the ice and is impervious to most currents. In addition, it can safely power down, turning on only when it needs to take a measurement, so that it can spend months observing the under-ice environment.

Even if all tests are successful other challenges remain. For example the ice on Europa is up to 19 miles (30km) in thickness, so reaching the ice-water interface will be a challenge. One possibility is a A Nuclear-Powered Tunneling Robot [soylentnews.org] that could melt through the ice leaving a hole that BRUIE could descend through.

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