The robot that thinks it's human -- and could find alien life

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The robot that thinks it's human -- and could find alien life

Mon, 04/16/2007 - 16:52 - NLN

An underwater robot which "thinks" for itself is being developed to search for life under the ice on one of Jupiter's moons. The mushroom-shaped machine, called DepthX, will undergo its latest tests in Mexico next month in one of the world's deepest flooded cave systems.

A future robot based on the same technology is expected to penetrate the ice-covered sea that surrounds Europa, one of Jupiter's moons.

Scientists believe Europa's ocean, which is warmed slightly by the friction of tides, could be one of the best places in the solar system to look for life.

The mission, not likely to take place until 2019, will be one of the most complex ever attempted by NASA.

Read full story in Scotsman