This article was taken from the May 2012 issue of Wired
magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before
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autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) have explored the frontiers
of Earth's deep-sea worlds. In 2007, the Texas-based company's DepthX craft explored
the Zacatón hydrothermal spring complex in northern Mexico. The
following year, DepthX's smaller variant, the Endurance, travelled beneath Antarctica's ice sheets. Its next
Stone Aerospace is working with Nasa to send an AUV to explore the
Jupiter moon's frozen seas within the next 20 years. Europa is
thought to host vast saltwater oceans beneath its surface -- a
likely candidate for microbial life.
How it works:
Endurance operates autonomously and maps its own
surroundings. Its 96 sensors examine rock and water before
collecting samples for on-board processing.
Here's how its mission will go down...
1. Six thrusters
Four horizontal and two vertical thrusters enable movement in
every direction. Only half are needed -- the extras are built-in
redundancy. Combined, they create 1,400N of thrust.
2. Primary computers
Endurance has 45 computer processors for navigation and
data-gathering. Video and still images are also processed on-board
to identify signs of potential life forms for sampling.
3. Sonar sensors
Two racks of 56 sonar sensors can find objects up to 300 metres
away. Called simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM), this
helps to build a topographical map.
4. Satellite connectivity
After gathering samples on Europa, the submersible will return to
the ocean's surface to transmit data back to Earth, relaying the
transmission via an orbiting satellite.
5. Sonde package
This package of instruments can be lowered from the craft,
attached by an ethernet and power cable. Descending 100 metres, it
can sample water chemistry and record images.
6. Buoyancy engines
Variable buoyancy engines (VBEs) hold the craft in position within
a 5cm horizontal and 1cm vertical margin by gauging water pressure,
temperature and salinity.
Click the gallery to see Endurance in its underwater