NASA funds ion-powered aerobots to probe Titan's cave network
NASA’s NIAC program is funding SPARK Aerobots (Solid-state Propulsion for Autonomous Reconnaissance of Karst) to develop small, spherical flying robots with electrohydrodynamic ion thrusters to explore Titan’s methane- and ethane-filled caves. The Phase 1 grant will run about nine months, with a potential Phase 2 of up to two years, and the team hopes SPARK could serve as a cave-exploration forerunner to the Dragonfly mission (targeted for 2028). Led by Daniel Drew (University of Hawaii) with JPL collaborators, SPARK aims for persistence and maneuverability in Titan’s near-cryogenic conditions, while acknowledging efficiency limits compared with conventional propulsion.
