Robotic Snakes Could Invade Mars (For Science)
SEP 18, 2013 07:32 AM ET // BY IAN O’NEILL

So far, the only robots to be sent to the Martian surface have come in the form of stationary landers or mobile rovers. But could the next generation of robotic Mars explorer come in the form of a… snake?

This little bit of lateral, slithery thinking comes from researchers at SINTEF (Stiftelsen for Industriell og Teknisk Forskning), a research institute based in Trondheim, Norway, who have built prototype robotic snakes that could explore where no Mars rover has ever explored before.

The key problem with any robotic Mars exploration effort is that of maneuverability, even the most agile of wheeled rover has limits on what it can do. The best thing about snakes is that they are the ultimate contortionists able to probe any nook and cranny, avoiding hazards along the way.

“Manoeuvrability is a challenge. 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”, said SINTEF researchers Pål Liljebäck and Aksel Transeth.

This work is based on a feasibility study funded by the European Space Agency (ESA), which is investigating different ways of exploring and sampling planetary surfaces. The SINTEF study focuses on a snake-like appendage for a more traditional Mars rover.

Like NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory’s robotic arm that is used to get up-close and personal with rocky samples, focusing the attached MAHLI (Mars Hand Lens Imager) camera on small-scale geological features, a snake-like probe could go one better, detaching itself and “slithering” up to samples and collecting them from hard-to-reach locations.

Riff-in-Thyme said:

Robotic Snakes Could Invade Mars (For Science)
SEP 18, 2013 07:32 AM ET // BY IAN O’NEILL

So far, the only robots to be sent to the Martian surface have come in the form of stationary landers or mobile rovers. But could the next generation of robotic Mars explorer come in the form of a… snake?

This little bit of lateral, slithery thinking comes from researchers at SINTEF (Stiftelsen for Industriell og Teknisk Forskning), a research institute based in Trondheim, Norway, who have built prototype robotic snakes that could explore where no Mars rover has ever explored before.

The key problem with any robotic Mars exploration effort is that of maneuverability, even the most agile of wheeled rover has limits on what it can do. The best thing about snakes is that they are the ultimate contortionists able to probe any nook and cranny, avoiding hazards along the way.

“Manoeuvrability is a challenge. 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”, said SINTEF researchers Pål Liljebäck and Aksel Transeth.

This work is based on a feasibility study funded by the European Space Agency (ESA), which is investigating different ways of exploring and sampling planetary surfaces. The SINTEF study focuses on a snake-like appendage for a more traditional Mars rover.

Like NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory’s robotic arm that is used to get up-close and personal with rocky samples, focusing the attached MAHLI (Mars Hand Lens Imager) camera on small-scale geological features, a snake-like probe could go one better, detaching itself and “slithering” up to samples and collecting them from hard-to-reach locations.

Wonder how it would go in sand, would the wheel-like transporters clog-up. Recent investigations show many snakes move like a wave, starting from the rear and moving forward. I would think such momentum would have advantages here.

I’ve blown my download so I can’t even watch the video

PermeateFree said:

Wonder how it would go in sand, would the wheel-like transporters clog-up. Recent investigations show many snakes move like a wave, starting from the rear and moving forward. I would think such momentum would have advantages here.

They’d only have to look at the sidewinder to deal with that wouldn’t they?

I doubt a snakes movement would be more efficient than the wheel

wookiemeister said:

I doubt a snakes movement would be more efficient than the wheel

what if the snake had retractable wheels huh? hhmmmm?

wookiemeister said:

I doubt a snakes movement would be more efficient than the wheel

Lower surface pressure I would think.

I’d have thought you could even design snakes to climb rock faces

then you’ve got the thing rolling around in all that dust

Riff-in-Thyme said:

wookiemeister said:

I doubt a snakes movement would be more efficient than the wheel

what if the snake had retractable wheels huh? hhmmmm?

Or swallow its tail and go hoop snake.

> a snake-like probe could go one better, detaching itself and “slithering” up to samples and collecting them from hard-to-reach locations.

Ever since I heard about endoscopes, I’ve wanted a robotic snake to do speleology, to explore the hidden passages in caves that are often only accessible through tiny openings.

As for Mars, the frictional losses would be far worse than for a wheeled vehicle. Would be much more difficult to keep clean as well. The low gravity would help, help a lot.