DEPTHX Bot Explores Ultra Deep Sinkhole

NASA DEPTHX Robot Completes Test Drive of Exploration Capabilities (plus extra photos)

“In late May, a NASA-funded robot successfully navigated one of the world’s deepest sinkholes. The mission could be a prelude to a future mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa, believed to contain a liquid water ocean. The Deep Phreatic Thermal Explorer (DEPTHX) is a 3,300-pound, computerized, underwater vehicle that makes its own decisions. With more than 100 sensors, 36 onboard computers, and 16 thrusters and actuators, it decides where to swim, which samples to collect and how to get home.”