2023-05-09 11:36:19
Since the beginning of time, one of the great secrets that human beings have tried to reveal is whether there is life beyond life. Tierra or if, on the contrary, we are the lucky ones. The experts do not cease in their efforts to discover, little by little, all the corners of the universe and to do so, each time they make use of state-of-the-art technology, such as the case of Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor (EELS).
What is the EELS system? It is a platform composed of mobile instruments and that was born thinking of being able to explore internal structures of the terrain. Among other things, he wants to know if the surface he is studying is habitable or not, and his ultimate goal would be look for evidence of life.
It was born designed to be adaptable to the ocean world, fluidized media, closed and liquid labyrinthine environments and it is known that his mission will take place in Enceladus, one of Saturn’s 83 moons which is known for its icy surface that is the whitest and most reflective in the solar system.
EELS Features
Because of his appearance, he is known as the snake robot and although the launch date has not yet been revealed, the researchers of the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab they hope to finish it by fall 2024.
The characteristics that have been made public of this platform is that it is a self-propelled robot and is “made of multiple identical segments that contain the actuation and propulsion mechanisms, as well as the power and communication electronics to drive them” they explain from the Jet Propulsion Lab.
Its extension will be approximately 16 feet and his weight of 220 pounds and uses rotating propulsion units that act as grappling mechanisms and “underwater propeller units, allowing the robot to access the exit of a vent and follow it to its origin in the ocean.”
In addition, his “head” will include a technology that allows him to capture the world in 3D and send real-time video to operators.
From NASA it becomes clear that It would take a spacecraft about 12 years to get the snake to Saturn’s moon., but the researchers expect the EELS to only take a few days. NASA hopes it will enable “deeper exploration in areas that were once unreachable.”
Saturn has always been a target for researchers, both its moons and rings making it especially attractive. Precisely the latter is one of the great concerns and that is that this planet is losing its rings.
According to the latest research published years ago, the rings are being pulled towards Saturn by gravity as a dusty rain of ice particles under the influence of Saturn’s magnetic field.
James O’Donoghueof NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland explained that “this ‘ring shower’ drains an amount of water products that could fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool from Saturn’s rings in half an hour.”
He adds: “For this alone, the entire ring system will be gone in 300 million years, but add to this the ring material that the Cassini ship detected falling on Saturn’s equator, which reduces the life expectancy of the rings to less than 100 million years of life. This is relatively short, compared to Saturn’s age of over 4 billion years.”
Saturn was created with rings or were they generated later?
The answer to this question has always been a great unknown and it is that the works of the last years are inclined to think that it is unlikely that these rings are more than 100 million years oldsince it would take as long for the C ring to become what it is today, assuming it was once as dense as the B ring.
“We are lucky to be around to see Saturn’s ring system, which appears to be in the middle of its lifespan. However, if the rings are temporary, we may not have seen the giant ring systems of Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune.” , who have only fine curls today!” says O’Donoghue.
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