Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




EXO LIFE
Finding ET may require giant robotic leap
by Staff Writers
University Park PA (SPX) Apr 20, 2012


Mathews suggests that if human exploration is not possible, robots could go where many people do not want to go and do what many do not want to do, not only on Earth, but also in space. To minimize the cost, he suggests that the initial robots be manufactured on the moon to take advantage of the resources and the one-sixth gravity. He notes that we have the technology to create these exobots now, except for a compact power source.

Autonomous, self-replicating robots - exobots - are the way to explore the universe, find and identify extraterrestrial life and perhaps clean up space debris in the process, according to a Penn State engineer, who notes that the search for extraterrestrial intelligence - SETI - is in its 50th year.

"The basic premise is that human space exploration must be highly efficient, cost effective, and autonomous as placing humans beyond low Earth orbit is fraught with political economic, and technical difficulties," John D. Mathews, professor of electrical engineering, reported in the current issue of the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society.

If aliens are out there, they have the same problems we do, they need to conserve resources, are limited by the laws of physics and they may not even be eager to meet us, according to Mathews.

He suggests that "only by developing and deploying self-replicating robotic spacecraft - and the incumbent communications systems - can the human race efficiently explore even the asteroid belt, let alone the vast reaches of the Kuiper Belt, Oort Cloud, and beyond."

Mathews assumes that any extraterrestrial would need to follow a similar path to the stars, sending robots rather than living beings, which would explain why SETI has not succeeded to date.

"If they are like us, they too have a dysfunctional government and all the other problems plaguing us," said Mathews. "They won't want to spend a lot to communicate with us."

It is extremely difficult to broadcast into the galaxy and requires vast resources. Radio signals need to emanate in every direction to fill the sky, and the energy requirement to broadcast throughout space is quite high.

"Current infrared lasers can communicate across our solar system," said Mathews. "The problem in terms of SETI is they are highly directed beams."

Point-to-point communications using infrared signaling requires less power, but the signals are extremely directional. If ET is using laser-generated infrared signaling, we would never notice their signals because they are so tightly targeted to their destinations.

Mathews suggests that if human exploration is not possible, robots could go where many people do not want to go and do what many do not want to do, not only on Earth, but also in space.

To minimize the cost, he suggests that the initial robots be manufactured on the moon to take advantage of the resources and the one-sixth gravity. He notes that we have the technology to create these exobots now, except for a compact power source.

To create a network of autonomous robots capable of passing information to each other and back to earth, the vehicles must be able to identify their exact location and determine the time.

With these two bits of knowledge, they should be able to determine where all the other robots near them are and target them with an infrared laser beam carrying data.

"The expensive part of launching anything is escaping the surface of Earth and its gravity well," said Mathews. "It would also be easier to target the space debris in near Earth orbit and in geosynchronous orbit and even recycle it."

Initially, the exobots would serve two purposes: clear existing debris and monitor the more than 1,200 near Earth asteroids that are particularly hazardous in that they closely approach Earth during their orbits.

"As a first step, we really should launch robot vehicles to learn something about these asteroids and to place beacons on them for identification and tracking," said Mathews.

Ultimately, the network of exobots - self-replicating, autonomous and capable of learning - will spread through the solar system and into the galaxy, using the resources they find there to continue their mission. Communicating with infrared lasers is communicating at the speed of light, which is the fastest we can hope to achieve.

"Our assumption in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is that ET wants to be found," said Mathews. "But who has energy resources to spend trying to wave their metaphorical hand across the galaxy?"

He said it is more likely that one of our exobots will intercept a signal from one of theirs if we are to make first contact.

.


Related Links
Penn State
Life Beyond Earth
Lands Beyond Beyond - extra solar planets - news and science






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








EXO LIFE
H3+: The Molecule that Made the Universe
Tucson AZ (SPX) Apr 17, 2012
In a study that pushed quantum mechanical theory and research capabilities to the limit, UA researchers have found a way to see the molecule that likely made the universe - or at least the hot and fiery bits of it. Lurking in the vast, chilly regions between stars, the unassuming molecule known as a triatomic hydrogen ion, or H3+, may hold secrets of the formation of the first stars after ... read more


EXO LIFE
Winners of 19th Annual NASA Great Moonbuggy Race Announced

Russian Space Agency eyes Moon explorations

Russia postpones Luna-Glob moon mission

Russia Plans to Launch Lunar Rovers to Moon after 2020

EXO LIFE
Asteroid Craters On Earth Give Clues In Search For Life On Mars

Opportunity Left-Front Wheel Stabilized

Photo Of NASA's Maven Spacecraft and Propellant Tank at Lockheed Martin

Dark regions on Mars may be volcanic glass

EXO LIFE
Parachutes for NASA crew capsule tested

NASA Announces 16th Undersea Exploration Mission Dates and Crew

Dwindling US Space Budget Worries Scientist

Tim gets his feet wet

EXO LIFE
China's Lunar Docking

Shenzhou-9 may take female astronaut to space

China to launch 100 satellites during 2011-15

Three for Tiangong

EXO LIFE
Commercial Platform Offers Exposure at ISS

Learn to dock ATV the astronaut way

Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES)

Busy first days for ATV Edoardo Amaldi

EXO LIFE
SpaceX said eyeing Texas launch site

Lockheed Martin Names New Leader for Commercial Launch Services Business

A double arrival for Arianespace's next dual-payload Ariane 5 mission

Another weather satellite payload is readied for launch by Arianespace

EXO LIFE
Some Stars Capture Rogue Planets

ALMA Reveals Workings of Nearby Planetary System

UF-led team uses new observatory to characterize low-mass planets orbiting nearby star

When Stellar Metallicity Sparks Planet Formation

EXO LIFE
US judge allows tech 'poaching' suit to proceed

Hollywood studios lose landmark download case

Raytheon's Space Fence System Detects and Tracks Space Objects

Greenpeace says cloud computing 'dirty'




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement