Underwater Robot to explore beneath Antarctic Ice 2A remote camera captured an IceNode prototype deployed below the frozen surface of Lake Superior. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Scientists are testing a prototype underwater robot called IceNode, designed to explore some of the most challenging spots on Earth.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers plan to deploy a fleet of these autonomous robots into unknown underwater cavities beneath Antarctic ice shelves.

IceNode: JPL’s Autonomous Underwater Robots

They aim to measure ice melt rates, providing essential data to help scientists predict future sea level rise.

Underwater Robot to explore beneath Antarctic IceA prototype of a robot built to access underwater areas where Antarctic ice shelves. Credit: U.S. Navy/Scott Barnes

In March 2024, the IceNode team tested a prototype under Arctic sea ice in the Beaufort Sea, north of Alaska.

source jpl.nasa