Could a Snake Robot Find Alien Life? | Mars, Enceladus & the Future of Space Robotics

What does it take to build a robot that can explore another world—and maybe even help us find extraterrestrial life?In this special bonus mini-episode of UNOBTAINIUM, roboticist Dr. Hiro Ono takes us from the surface of Mars to the hidden ocean of Enceladus, Saturn’s icy moon.Hiro, who joined us for our episode on BLADE RUNNER and the future of robotics, worked on the Mars Perseverance rover, helping develop autonomous vision systems that allow a robot millions of miles from Earth to understand its surroundings and navigate the Martian landscape. With signals between Earth and Mars taking minutes to arrive, a rover can't simply wait for a human to tell it what to do—it needs some ability to perceive, decide and act for itself. Then we travel much farther out.Hiro explains the thinking behind EELS (Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor), a snake-like robot designed to tackle one of the wildest challenges in planetary exploration: navigating the cracks in the icy crust of Enceladus, where scientists believe a vast liquid-water ocean lies beneath the surface. Could an adaptable robot someday follow those pathways beneath the ice—and search an alien ocean for signs of life? It’s a fascinating look at AI, machine vision, autonomous robots, Mars exploration, astrobiology, Enceladus and the engineering we may need to explore some of the most promising places for life beyond Earth.And if you enjoy Hiro here, check out our full BLADE RUNNER episode, where we explore how close today's robots and artificial intelligence are getting to the science fiction imagined on screen.Subscribe to UNOBTAINIUM for more conversations about the surprising science behind the movies and TV we love.Follow Unobtainium Podcast! Website: unobtainiumpodcast.com Stay connected: Instagram: @unobtainiumpod TikTok: @unobtainiumpod Bluesky: @unobtainiumpod.bsky.social X: @unobtainiumpod For Dr. Hiro Ono:https://hiroono.com/en/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/hiroono/#Unobtainium #SpaceExploration #Robotics #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #Mars #Perseverance #Enceladus #Astrobiology #NASA #SpaceRobotics #BladeRunner #SearchForLife Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.