NASA Develops Swarm of Microbots to Search for Life on Europa

A team of engineers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is developing a swarm of swimming microbots that could be deployed to Europa's ocean to search for signs of life.

Artist’s conception of the SWIM mission. Credit: Schaler et al.

The microbots, called SWIM (Sensing with Independent Microswimmers), would be deployed from a larger robot that would drill through Europa's ice shell. Once in the ocean, the microbots would use their sensors to measure the water's temperature, salinity, and chemical composition. They would also look for signs of life, such as organic molecules or biosignatures.

The microbots would be about the size of a grain of rice and would be powered by small batteries. They would communicate with each other and with the mothership using ultrasonic waves.

The SWIM project is still in the early stages of development, but NASA has awarded the JPL team a grant to further study the concept. If the project is successful, SWIM could be one of the first missions to search for life on Europa.

The discovery of a subsurface ocean on Europa has generated a lot of excitement among scientists, as it is one of the most promising places in the solar system to find life beyond Earth. The SWIM project is a promising new way to search for life on Europa, and it could help us to answer one of the biggest questions in science: are we alone in the universe?