Researchers are developing a protoype cryobot that could help astrobiologists explore icy worlds in the Solar System as well as some of the most extreme environments on Earth. Technologies developed for VALKYRIE (Very-deep Autonomous Laser-powered Kilowatt-class Yo-yoing Robotic Ice Explorer) could allow robots to explore beneath the ice caps of planets, or glaciers here on Earth. One element of the design includes using a high-energy laser to power the ice explorer.

Details about the 4-year effort are presented in the paper, “Progress towards an optically powered cryobot,” published in the journal Annals of Glaciology.

This work was supported in part by the Astrobiology Science & Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP) element of the NASA Astrobiology Program.