LMT has been selected as a key partner on a NASA-sponsored platform to enable unprecedented autonomous life detection in habitable ocean environments concealed beneath thick ice crusts. The THOR (Thermal High-voltage Ocean-penetrator Research) project is being led by Stone Aerospace. The project is developing a robust cryobot capable of rapid, deep subglacial access for environmental characterization and life detection. THOR aims to be the first cryobot to descend into a subglacial lake, thus enabling unique investigations of the lake's geomicrobiology.
Ultimately, the THOR project will be a pre-flight mission demonstration of a full scale closed-cycle hot water drill (CCHWD)-based robotic ice penetrator for exploration of outer planet ice caps and to identify microbial life contained within the ice caps. LMT will be partnering on the design, fabrication, laboratory testing, and field-testing of the cryobot and biomarker detection systems. The THOR project leverages LMT's previous successful collaborations with Stone Aerospace, including the VALKYRIE and SPINDLE (Sub-glacial Polar ice Navigation, Descent, and Lake Exploration) projects. The THOR project is funded by NASA's Planetary Science and Technology from Analog Research (PSTAR) program.