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Various forms of hopping robots have crept into development for us[e in different space exploration missions. We\u2019ve reported on their use on asteroids and even our own Moon. But a study funded by NASA\u2019s Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) in 2018 planned a mission to a type of world where hopping may not be as noticeable an advantage\u2014Europa.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The mission, developed by engineers at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Purdue University, and Honeybee Robotics, is known as the Steam Propelled Autonomous Retrieval Robot for Ocean Worlds, or SPARROW. It\u2019s about the size and shape of a soccer ball, with the logic, power, and control systems inside a spherical outer hollow shell.\u00a0<\/p>\n SPARROW wouldn\u2019t be able to operate on its own, however. It would require a lander to deposit it onto the surface and serve as a refueling and sample collection storage base. Europa Clipper, the only currently planned NASA mission to the icy moon, would have been good for hitching a ride, but its lack of a lander made it unsuitable for SPARROW.<\/p>\n \n