ESA Examines Possibility of Snake-like Robots on Mars

Researchers at the European Space Agency (ESA) have developed a robotic prototype that could serve as the basis for future robots designed to explore foreign space bodies.

Those at the ESA have watched for years as their American counterparts have put four rovers on Mars, each resembling something of a stripped down car with six wheels and robotic arms to scoop up soil samples and operate cameras. They've also watched as these rovers have struggled to make their slow way across the Martian surface, sometimes becoming hopelessly stuck.

"[Maneuverability] is a challenge," explained Pal Liljeback and Aksel Transeth of SINTEF ICT, Scandinavia's largest research organization and the home of the new prototype. "The Spirit rover was lost after it became stuck in the sand on Mars. The vehicles just cannot get to many of the places from which samples have to be taken."

For this reason, Liljeback and Transeth are turning to a different source for inspiration, developing along with their colleagues a robot resembling a snake. The robot, they explain, would ride aboard a more traditional rover for the longer distances, crawling out to explore difficult terrain when needed.

"The connection between the robot and the rover also means that the snake robot will be able to assist the vehicle if the latter gets stuck," Liljeback said. "In such a situation, the robot could lower itself to the ground and coil itself around a rock enabling the rover pull itself loose by means of the cable winch, which the rover would normally use to pull the snake robot towards the rover."

Currently, Martian rovers analyze soil samples themselves, communicating the results back to to Earth. The ESA is looking to change this, too, constructing the new robot so that not only would it be able to collect samples from areas the accompanying rover can't reach, but perhaps helping to bring some of them home.

"We are looking at several alternatives to enable a rover and a robot to work together," Transeth said.