Swarms for Sampling and Detection of Life in Caves on Earth and in Space

Main Objectives: - Design and test a swarm of robots for the sampling and the detection of life in caves on Earth - Optimise swarm behaviour/design to find the strongest possible evidence for life in caves - Use fieldwork testing results to provide design suggestions for future space missions that explore planetary caves

using swarms

Caves are one of the last two remaining frontiers for exploration on Earth and they provide an incredibly well-preserved

sampling environment that's of high scientific value. However, caves are not well characterised due to the risks involved,

and the difficulties to access them. A swarm of robots are well equipped at dealing with the numerous challenges (limited sensory information, unpredictable terrain, GPS denied environment, and so on) posed by cave exploration. The swarm

would be designed and optimised to detect life through multiple measurements and samples taken from different areas of the

cave, which provides a higher level of evidence for the existence of life within these caves than a single robot is capable of.

Swarms also have relevant applications such as chemical plume tracing and horizontal core sampling capabilities, and there

is readily available/simple instrumentation, such as test strips, for the detection of substances common to life. The new samples collected from these caves could provide insight into previously unseen microbiology with potential medicinal

applications, and contributes to the growing body of evidence showing significant biological diversity in caves. The swarm

could also be extended for geological sampling of the caves, which would reveal new insight into the history of our climate.

Future space exploration missions prioritise caves as high value Astrobiological targets with the best chance to detect signs

of life, and caves are likely to be used for future space settlements due to radiation shielding. This research closes the gap in technological development for future Astrobiological space missions to detect life in planetary caves utilising swarms.