Slithering across worlds—snake-inspired robots for extraterrestrial exploration

Bio-inspired robotics offers a powerful approach to improving the mobility and function of robotic devices in natural terrain. By learning from the animals that have been evolving to traverse these environments for millions of years, we can develop mechanical and control technologies which are often simpler, more elegant, more economical, and more robust than human-engineered counterparts. Snake-inspired robots hold particular promise for negotiating cluttered, complex, and confined terrain, making them ideal for exploration of challenging extraterrestrial environments. This chapter will present the challenges faced by exploration devices in extraterrestrial missions, why snakes are an ideal model system for robotic explorers, how snakes achieve their remarkable locomotor capabilities, and the potential and challenges of snake robots for augmenting exploration of terrestrial planets.