Mini NASA Robot Takes SWIM

NASA/JPL-Caltech

A 16.5-inch-long prototype of a robot designed to explore subsurface oceans of icy moons is reflected in the water's surface during a test in a competition swimming pool in September 2024. Conducted by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the testing showed the feasibility of a mission concept called SWIM, short for Sensing With Independent Micro-swimmers. The project envisions a swarm of dozens of self-propelled, cellphone-size robots looking for signs of life on ocean worlds. SWIM is funded by NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts program under the agency's Space Technology Mission Directorate.

/Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) might be of the point-in-time nature, and edited for clarity, style and length. Mirage.News does not take institutional positions or sides, and all views, positions, and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s).View in full here.