The United Kingdom is developing three space robots in the race to find life on Mars. The first prototype is named "Bruno," and it's scheduled for a special experiment final testing in April. The two other planetary navigation robots were named Bridget and Bryan.
All three were designed and developed by Airbus Defence and Space in Stevenage, England. The British rovers are part of the £946 million (over $1.3 billion) space project that will send a robot to Mars in 2018. But what makes them different from other Martian rovers?
Bruno is capable of producing its own 3D map of a target area so it can plan its own path. But the caves and craters on the Martian surface still confuse Bruno so scientists are still tweaking that feature with the help of British astronaut Tim Peake.
Jeremy Close, communications director for Airbus Defence & Space, acknowledged the efficiency of having a human remotely control the rover to explore certain areas. Bruno is currently training in a large testing site in Stevenage.
Being semi-autonomous enables Bruno to be self-aware to a certain degree. For instance, by creating a 3D map of an area, it teaches the robot that there are some rocks that need to be avoided by driving around it instead of running over it. The 3D map enables it to sense if certain slopes are safe for climbing as well as to perceive ditches.
Unlike other planetary rovers, Bruno doesn't need to wait long to receive beamed instructions from Earth-based operators. Human operators will only need to provide the coordinates of a specific location they want to target. It's up to Bruno to decide on how to get there.
In about two years, Bruno, Brian and Bridget will be joined by a six-wheeled rover with a "brain" similar to that of Bruno. The European Space Agency has yet to name this fourth robot but from what we know so far, this rover is designed to search for biochemical signatures of life unlike any other rover before it.
The finished rover will be equipped with a drill that will help it explore 2 meters (over 9 feet) below the arid Martian surface. It can procure samples and analyze the using the onboard lab. The finished rover can also take images of the surrounding Martian landscape.
"It will have the ability to put you there in a 3D color environment as if you were on Mars," said head of science Dr. Ralph Cordey from the Airbus Defence and Space. "It will help answer one of the really deep down questions that we have. You stop and look up into the night sky and wonder, is there life out there? We've now got the engineering and science capability to start trying to answer that question."
