Windbots could explore the atmosphere of Jupiter one day, according to NASA researchers exploring the unique craft.
These unusual vehicles would move through the dense, turbulent gases that surround the giant world. Instead of flying, the vehicles would "bob" through the atmosphere.
Nasa's Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program has awarded $100,000 toward research into these potentially revolutionary designs for robotic explorers to distant worlds.
Four of the planets within our solar system—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune—have never been explored by rovers. This is due to the fact that each of these giant worlds is composed of a vast, dense atmosphere that makes up the majority of their sizable radius. At the present time, it would be impossible to land a spacecraft on the solid core of a giant planet hidden deep beneath the visible surface of the atmosphere.
"One could imagine a network of windbots existing for quite a long time on Jupiter or Saturn, sending information about ever-changing weather patterns. And, of course, what we learn about the atmospheres of other planets enriches our understanding of Earth's own weather and climate," Adrian Stoica, principal investigator for windbots research at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said.
The Galileo spacecraft sent a probe into the atmosphere of Jupiter in 1995. That vehicle, which deployed a parachute during its descent, only lasted around an hour before succumbing to the enormous temperatures and pressures.
Atmospheric vehicle designers face severe challenges when developing vehicles capable of extended stays in the air of alien worlds. Nuclear power sources are too heavy to drive the vehicles, and solar power would be ineffective when the vehicle was on the dark side of the planet. This is leading many engineers to study the feasibility of keeping atmospheric vehicles in the air utilizing air currents, regional thermal differences or the local magnetic field.
"A dandelion seed is great at staying airborne. It rotates as it falls, creating lift, which allows it to stay afloat for a long time, carried by the wind. We'll be exploring this effect on windbot designs," Stoica stated in a NASA press release.
Designs driven by wind turbulence do not require high wind velocities but rather a dramatic difference in wind speeds between neighboring areas. These forces can push the vehicle around, while specially designed flaps provide lift, raising the robotic explorer into the air. Researchers at NASA equate this process to a wristwatch that winds as it is shaken.
Windbots might control their flight through the use of several rotors located around the body of the vehicles, as the next generation of spacecraft explore the largest planets in our solar system.
