Burrowing Soft Robot Developed That Could Tunnel Into The Moon

A snake-like robot has been developed that can burrow through sand or loose soil. Researchers at the University of California Santa Barbara & Georgia Institute of Technology have taken their cues from plants & animals that have evolved to navigate subterranean spaces. They say they have "developed a fast, controllable soft robot that can burrow through sand.” The team is working on a project with NASA to develop burrowing for the moon or even more distant bodies, like Enceladus, a moon of Jupiter. The Geogia Tech researchers, all from the School of Physics, include Dunn Family Professor Dan Goldman, former undergraduate research assistant Mason Murray-Cooper, postdoctoral researcher Yasemin Ozkan-Aydin, and research engineer Enes Aydin.