We propose to develop, integrate, and field test spindle (sub-glacial polar ICE navigation, descent, and lake exploration)-an autonomous vehicle system consisting of a robotic ICE penetrating…

This federal contract award to Stone Aerospace, Inc., a small disadvantaged business based in Texas, is for the development, integration, and field testing of the SPINDLE (Sub-Glacial Polar Ice Navigation, Descent, and Lake Exploration) autonomous vehicle system. The SPINDLE system consists of a robotic ice penetrating carrier vehicle (cryobot) and a hovering autonomous underwater vehicle (HAUV) that will work together to explore sub-ice aqueous environments, such as Lake Vostok in Antarctica or the subsurface oceans of Europa and Ganymede.

The $2,885,680.10 grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) aims to advance the technology readiness level of the SPINDLE system to TRL 7, making it ready for a flagship-class mission to the icy moons of the outer planets. The work builds upon Stone Aerospace's prior experience developing mobile robotics systems for NASA, including cryobots and autonomous underwater vehicles for subsurface exploration. The grant is part of NASA's Planetary Science Research program and supports the development of critical technologies enabling the search for life in these extreme environments.

We propose to develop, integrate, and field test spindle (sub-glacial polar ICE navigation, descent, and lake exploration)-an autonomous vehicle system consisting of a robotic ICE penetrating carrier vehicle (CRYOBOT) and a marsupial, hovering autonomous underwater vehicle (HAUV). The cyrobot will descend through an ICE body into a sub-ICE aqueous environment and deploy the HAUV to conduct reconnaissance, life search and sample collection. The HAUV will return to and auto dock with the CRYOBOT at the conclusion of the mission for subsequent data uplink and sample return to the surface. The CRYOBOT will ultimately be designed for 4 kilometer penetration through a terrestrial ICE sheet and the HAUV will be designed for persistent exploration and science presence in lake vostok, antarctica. Taken to the completion in a three-phase program, spindle will deliver an integrated and field tested system that will be directly transferable into a flagship class mission to either the hypothesized shallow lakes of europa, the sub-surface ocean of ganymede or the geyser-plume sources on both europa and enceladus. In summary, spindle promises to dramatically extend the state-of-the-art in autonomous field astrobiology for sub-ICE exploration of the outer planet ICY moons to TRL 7. The stone aero team has developed five mobile robotics systems for NASA over the past 12 years, all of them relevant to the building-block technologies need for outer planet ICY moon sub-surface investigation, including cryobots and several generations of hovering and long range under-ICE autonomous exploration vehicles. Through this prior work they have brought the key technologies to a point where we are primed for the steps described in this proposal, extensively leveraging prior NASA investments. We have the team and momentum to do this now and to carry this through to a flight mission as a follow on to phase C.