NASA to use steam-powered robot to explore moons 'in search for alien life'

dailystar.co.uk:

FREE newsletter is out of this world! Get the biggest, brightest and weirdest stories straight to your inboxNASA has announced it is developing a steam-powered robot in its quest to find alien life.The small craft, which will be the size of a football, will use steam to navigate the frozen, craggy landscapes of the moons in our Solar System.In a post on its website, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) says researchers are developing the robot known as SPARROW or Steam Propelled Autonomous Retrieval Robot for Ocean Worlds.It says it "would use steam propulsion to hop across the sort of icy terrains found on Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus".Quoted in the statement, JPL roboticist and lead researcher for the project Gareth.