Page 23: of Marine Technology Magazine (October 2016)

By Kira Coley

Shielded by a thick, brittle ice sur- face, a vast warm ocean hides beneath.

Scientists consider Jupiter’s smallest moon, Europa, to be the most promis- ing for alien life and have set in motion multiple concept ventures to design an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) which could successfully explore this remote, off-world environment. Many

Europa-bound missions are yet to come to fruition and prove the feasibil- ity of this ambitious and complex task, until now. After four years of research and development, the Europa-Explorer project, engineered by Germany’s Ro- botics Innovation Center (RIC), have built a working prototype submersible and a mission plan for perhaps one of the most exciting space exploration mission endeavors of our time.

Touching Down

Animation of the lander vehicle needed to deliver an AUV to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa. (Image: DFKI GmbH/ Meltem Yilmaz) www.marinetechnologynews.com

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