NASA test can drill into Europa ice nuclear power detector

NASA is testing Europa robotics in Alaska. It has a nuclear-powered drilling rig. Scientists expect to spend several years drilling the thick ice on Europa.

The Europa drilling robot under development is nuclear-powered and drills at a speed of 8 kilometers a year

Europa, also known as â€œEuropaâ€, is a satellite of Jupiter. Scientists believe that Europaâ€™s surface is covered with a thick layer of ice. It has a huge ocean underneath. Itâ€™s worth noting that this ocean belongs to liquid water. The ocean is not a sea of â€‹â€‹hydrocarbons or a lake of sulfuric acid. The existence of liquid water is believed to have potential for life. According to current scientists' definition of life in the universe, liquid water is a crucial factor. Without liquid water, there is no life. With liquid water, it is possible to evolve life. Two is worth the wait. NASA has already conducted research on Europa. It plans to send a probe to land on its surface for further investigation. Scientists hope to discover the first extraterrestrial life. The significance of this discovery is beyond the first human landing on the moon.

The key to the exploration of Europa is how to break through the thick ice surface. The Antarctic research team has already studied Lake Vostok, which is several kilometers deep. This is a giant lake hidden under the Antarctic continent and the largest in the world. The lake under the ice, the investigation of Lake Vostok is of similar significance to the exploration of Europa, and it also requires advanced drilling tools, because the surface of the Europa is also very thick with ice, and the lander is needed to land Europa. Drilling ice can release the submersible into a liquid lake, looking for possible "Europa" creatures.

Currently, NASA's Europa robot is being tested in Alaska. Scientists are testing new drilling technology because it will face a layer of ice up to 30 kilometers thick, which is obviously more difficult than the investigation of Lake Vostok. At least, Vastok Lake is still on Earth, scientists can mobilize heavy equipment to drill, so how to drill tens of kilometers thick ice on another planet is a big problem. NASA is overcoming this difficulty.

The robot developed by NASA is called Valkyrie. It was named after Nordic mythology. It is a nuclear-powered hydrothermal drill that can handle ice layers as deep as tens of kilometers. Its working principle is relatively simple. The power heated the drill bit and melted the ice in front of it. The Valkyrie robot tested in Alaska was able to descend in the direction of the drill bit and connected the cable behind it. Of course this was just a prototype. NASA is also testing the down speed of the drilling robot, that is, how fast it can be digged. The current state of the drilling probe is 8 kilometers a year. It will take several years to penetrate Europa's ice.

Europe also has a version of the drilling robot, but NASA will send faster robots to drill the Europa ice. NASA is currently working to explore life in the solar system. Europa is a potentially living planet. If we can discover the first extraterrestrial life on Europa, its significance is immeasurable. We have discovered microorganisms in the Vostok Lake millions of years ago, so Europa may have life.

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