Zoë is a solar-powered autonomous

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be ...

with sensors able to detect microorganisms and map the distribution of life in the

Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the ...

of northern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

, duplicating tasks that could be used in future exploration of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmos ...

. Zoë is equipped with tools and sensors to search for direct evidence of life beneath the surface of the ground. Zoë significantly aids in research needed to study Mars because it acts as a mobile observer and analyzer of any signs of life in a given location. She collects primary data which will help in understanding conditions present on

. This project will verify reliability of autonomous, mobile, and scientifically made robots.

Specifications

Zoë is a four-wheeled 220 kg rover with dimensions of approximately 2.9m in length, 2.9m in width, and a height of 2m. It achieves a top speed of 1 m/s with a turning radius of 2.5m Zoë carries a 3.5m2 Solar Panel with a maximum power generation of 1600W which allows it to move, activate computers and sensors, and charges the batteries.

Tools and Sensors

Zoë carries a one-meter long drill on its back. The drill will collect

soil samples Soil test may refer to one or more of a wide variety of soil analysis conducted for one of several possible reasons. Possibly the most widely conducted soil tests are those done to estimate the plant-available concentrations of plant nutrients, i ...

underground which will then be analyzed by other tools on board. This drill is able to collect soil samples underground with a maximum depth of 80 cm below surface. Zoë carries the

Mars Microbeam Raman Spectrometer Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphe ...

which is able to identify specific types of minerals in the subsurface. Other instruments include the

Bio IV Fluorescence Imager Bio or BIO may refer to: Computing * bio(4), a pseudo-device driver in RAID controller management interface in OpenBSD and NetBSD * Block I/O, a concept in computer data storage Politics * Julius Maada Bio (born 1964), Sierra Leonean politicia ...

which indicates the amount of natural fluorescence in soil and rocks, and detects chlorophyll-based-life; a

sample carousel Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

, which is used to store samples and used to deliver drill shavings to other instruments on-board; a colored- panoramic imager on a tilt unit, which captures high-resolution photographs up to 1mm/pixel resolution; a visible/near infrared

Spectrometer A spectrometer () is a scientific instrument used to separate and measure spectral components of a physical phenomenon. Spectrometer is a broad term often used to describe instruments that measure a continuous variable of a phenomenon where th ...

, which transforms spectra to visible and near-infrared wavelengths; and includes

environmental sensors A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

which are able to detect weather conditions such as the temperature, humidity, wetness, and wind.

Functionality

* Solar powered * Sensors * Avoids rocks and slopes * Drives and steers

Life in the Atacama Desert

Zoë was placed in the driest Desert on earth, the

, which is also considered to be the most lifeless. Research on this habitat did not truly begin until interest rose for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

’s astrobiology program. With much similar aspects to Mars, the

was proven to be a proper imitation of

. With this realization, scientists and researchers are dedicating their time to examine every part of the desert in hopes of finding

microbial life A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...

Expeditions

In the fall of 2004, a team of scientists accompanied Zoë on a two-month expedition in the Atacama Desert so she wouldn’t “drive off a cliff” Zoë was placed in the Atacama Desert in 2005 for its first

field expedition Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

. During its time there, it was able to map out any living organisms. In 2013, Zoë returned to the Desert with a meter-long drill to produce research of any existing microbial life beneath the Desert’s surface.

Team

* Carnegie Mellon Field Robotics Center *

Nasa Ames Research Center The Ames Research Center (ARC), also known as NASA Ames, is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1939 as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) labora ...

Nasa Jet Propulsion Lab The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...

The University of Tennessee Department of Geology ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

Universidad Catolica del Norte Catholic University of the North (Spanish: ''Universidad Católica del Norte'' (UCN)) is a university in Chile. It is part of the Chilean Traditional Universities. It is located in Antofagasta, Chile. The Catholic University of the North was fou ...

Honeybee Robotics Spacecraft Mechanisms Corporation A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosmop ...

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

* Washington University in St. Louis * Other: Raul Arias

References

Sources

Life in the Atacama

SETI Institute

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zoe (Robot) Planetary rovers Solar-powered robots Four-wheeled robots Robots of the United States 2004 robots