The human being has been sending rovers to Mars for 30 years. We know a lot about its surface, but there are still many unexplored regions. A good example is its tunnels. The red planet has the largest known network of tunnels in the solar system, but there has been no vehicle capable of entering them and exploring them from within. Therefore, a team of scientists from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology takes several years working on a most original solution: sending a ball bug robot, filled with dandelion drones, to the caves. It sounds very strange, but it makes sense.
Biomimetics to enter the tunnels. Professor Mostafa Hassanalian, from New Mexico Tech, has been working on this project for several years, but recently the topic has returned to the networks after he gave statements to space. In them he tells them, in broad strokes, the objective of his research. This is based on biomimetics. That is, in the development of technologies inspired by nature. Specifically, it aims to develop two types of drones: one inspired by scale insects and another that works like dandelion plants.
The mealybug, known colloquially as a ball bug, can enter small places and protect its own body by shrinking into a ball. In this case it protects its interior, because it has hidden a lot of tiny robots that spread through the air like dandelion seeds.
The problem. Mars is full of tunnels of volcanic origin. Some have been found extending up to 1,200 kilometers, with lava tubes more than 250 meters in diameter. They are not exactly small tunnels. The rovers currently on Mars, such as Curiosity either Perseverancethey do not have the ability to enter these tunnels. Therefore, if there is something interesting, we will not be able to know it until humans travel to the red planet. If what is there is dangerous, it is better to see it before entering. Methods are needed to see inside those tunnels.
The solution. Hassanalian’s team has come up with two types of robots. On the one hand, the one that imitates the cochineal is a sphere that can be inserted through a hole dug in the ceiling of the tunnels. Once inside these, the ball opens, like a cochineal that stops turning into a ball, and releases its contents: thousands of small, very light drones, which can travel kilometers away thanks to the wind.
Limitations overcome. These types of devices would encounter several obstacles, for which Hassanalian has already thought of a solution. The first would be that we have no idea if there will be enough wind inside the tunnels. We know that Mars can be very windy, reaching 100 kilometers per hour. However, the tunnels could be guarded. Therefore, this scientist plans to incorporate a fan in the main robot to help propel the mini dandelion drones.
In addition, the holes that would be made in the ceiling to introduce the robot would help propel the little seeds. On the other hand, sunlight cannot access the interior of the tunnels, so they could not be powered by solar energy. This is solved using piezoelectricity. That is to say, materials that generate electricity when subjected to mechanical pressure.
Multitude of sensors. The drones will be loaded with humidity and temperature sensors that will allow the internal conditions of the tunnels to be analyzed. In addition, they would also help map the conduits and make a plan of the Martian tunnel network. All of this would be sent to researchers via radio signals. At the moment, these two types of robots have not been built or tested, but the idea is very promising. With enough funding to make it happen, we would have a very ingenious solution to look into those blind spots on the red planet. And all thanks to an animal and a plant from our own planet.
Image | MagnificentDave Huth | Nex México Tech.
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