@article{KowalskiLinderZierkeetal.2016, author = {Kowalski, Julia and Linder, Peter and Zierke, S. and Wulfen, B. van and Clemens, J. and Konstantinidis, K. and Ameres, G. and Hoffmann, R. and Mikucki, J. and Tulaczyk, S. and Funke, O. and Blandfort, D. and Espe, Clemens and Feldmann, Marco and Francke, Gero and Hiecker, S. and Plescher, Engelbert and Sch{\"o}ngarth, Sarah and Dachwald, Bernd and Digel, Ilya and Artmann, Gerhard and Eliseev, D. and Heinen, D. and Scholz, F. and Wiebusch, C. and Macht, S. and Bestmann, U. and Reineking, T. and Zetzsche, C. and Schill, K. and F{\"o}rstner, R. and Niedermeier, H. and Szumski, A. and Eissfeller, B. and Naumann, U. and Helbing, K.}, title = {Navigation technology for exploration of glacier ice with maneuverable melting probes}, series = {Cold Regions Science and Technology}, journal = {Cold Regions Science and Technology}, number = {123}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0165-232X}, doi = {10.1016/j.coldregions.2015.11.006}, pages = {53 -- 70}, year = {2016}, abstract = {The Saturnian moon Enceladus with its extensive water bodies underneath a thick ice sheet cover is a potential candidate for extraterrestrial life. Direct exploration of such extraterrestrial aquatic ecosystems requires advanced access and sampling technologies with a high level of autonomy. A new technological approach has been developed as part of the collaborative research project Enceladus Explorer (EnEx). The concept is based upon a minimally invasive melting probe called the IceMole. The force-regulated, heater-controlled IceMole is able to travel along a curved trajectory as well as upwards. Hence, it allows maneuvers which may be necessary for obstacle avoidance or target selection. Maneuverability, however, necessitates a sophisticated on-board navigation system capable of autonomous operations. The development of such a navigational system has been the focal part of the EnEx project. The original IceMole has been further developed to include relative positioning based on in-ice attitude determination, acoustic positioning, ultrasonic obstacle and target detection integrated through a high-level sensor fusion. This paper describes the EnEx technology and discusses implications for an actual extraterrestrial mission concept.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{DigelLeimenaDachwaldetal.2010, author = {Digel, Ilya and Leimena, W. and Dachwald, Bernd and Linder, Peter and Porst, Dariusz and Kayser, Peter and Funke, O. and Temiz Artmann, Ayseg{\"u}l and Artmann, Gerhard}, title = {In-situ biological decontamination of an ice melting probe : [abstract]}, year = {2010}, abstract = {The objective of our study was to investigate the efficacy of different in-situ decontamination protocols in the conditions of thermo-mechanical ice-melting.}, subject = {Sonde}, language = {en} } @techreport{BlandfordDachwaldDigeletal.2015, author = {Blandford, Daniel and Dachwald, Bernd and Digel, Ilya and Espe, Clemens and Feldmann, Marco and Francke, Gero and Hiecke, Hannah and Kowalski, Julia and Lindner, Peter and Plescher, Engelbert and Sch{\"o}ngarth, Sarah}, title = {Enceladus Explorer : Schlussbericht — Version: 1.0}, publisher = {FH Aachen}, address = {Aachen}, doi = {10.2314/GBV:86319950X}, year = {2015}, language = {de} } @inproceedings{DachwaldXuFeldmannetal.2011, author = {Dachwald, Bernd and Xu, Changsheng and Feldmann, Marco and Plescher, Engelbert and Digel, Ilya and Artmann, Gerhard}, title = {Development and testing of a subsurface probe for detection of life in deep ice : [abstract]}, year = {2011}, abstract = {We present the novel concept of a combined drilling and melting probe for subsurface ice research. This probe, named "IceMole", is currently developed, built, and tested at the FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences' Astronautical Laboratory. Here, we describe its first prototype design and report the results of its field tests on the Swiss Morteratsch glacier. Although the IceMole design is currently adapted to terrestrial glaciers and ice shields, it may later be modified for the subsurface in-situ investigation of extraterrestrial ice, e.g., on Mars, Europa, and Enceladus. If life exists on those bodies, it may be present in the ice (as life can also be found in the deep ice of Earth).}, subject = {Eisschicht}, language = {en} } @article{LeimenaArtmannDachwaldetal.2010, author = {Leimena, W. and Artmann, Gerhard and Dachwald, Bernd and Temiz Artmann, Ayseg{\"u}l and Gossmann, Matthias and Digel, Ilya}, title = {Feasibility of an in-situ microbial decontamination of an ice-melting probe}, series = {Eurasian Chemico-Technological Journal. 12 (2010), H. 2}, journal = {Eurasian Chemico-Technological Journal. 12 (2010), H. 2}, isbn = {1562-3920}, pages = {145 -- 150}, year = {2010}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{DigelDachwaldArtmannetal.2009, author = {Digel, Ilya and Dachwald, Bernd and Artmann, Gerhard and Linder, Peter and Funke, O.}, title = {A concept of a probe for particle analysis and life detection in icy environments}, year = {2009}, abstract = {A melting probe equipped with autofluorescence-based detection system combined with a light scattering unit, and, optionally, with a microarray chip would be ideally suited to probe icy environments like Europa's ice layer as well as the polar ice layers of Earth and Mars for recent and extinct live.}, subject = {Sonde}, language = {en} } @article{DigelDachwaldArtmannetal.2009, author = {Digel, Ilya and Dachwald, Bernd and Artmann, Gerhard and Linder, Peter and Funke, O.}, title = {A concept of a probe for particle analysis and life detection in icy environments}, pages = {1 -- 24}, year = {2009}, language = {en} } @article{MikuckiSchulerDigeletal.2023, author = {Mikucki, Jill Ann and Schuler, C. G. and Digel, Ilya and Kowalski, Julia and Tuttle, M. J. and Chua, Michelle and Davis, R. and Purcell, Alicia and Ghosh, D. and Francke, G. and Feldmann, M. and Espe, C. and Heinen, Dirk and Dachwald, Bernd and Clemens, Joachim and Lyons, W. B. and Tulaczyk, S.}, title = {Field-Based planetary protection operations for melt probes: validation of clean access into the blood falls, antarctica, englacial ecosystem}, series = {Astrobiology}, volume = {23}, journal = {Astrobiology}, number = {11}, publisher = {Liebert}, address = {New York, NY}, issn = {1557-8070 (online)}, doi = {10.1089/ast.2021.0102}, pages = {1165 -- 1178}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Subglacial environments on Earth offer important analogs to Ocean World targets in our solar system. These unique microbial ecosystems remain understudied due to the challenges of access through thick glacial ice (tens to hundreds of meters). Additionally, sub-ice collections must be conducted in a clean manner to ensure sample integrity for downstream microbiological and geochemical analyses. We describe the field-based cleaning of a melt probe that was used to collect brine samples from within a glacier conduit at Blood Falls, Antarctica, for geomicrobiological studies. We used a thermoelectric melting probe called the IceMole that was designed to be minimally invasive in that the logistical requirements in support of drilling operations were small and the probe could be cleaned, even in a remote field setting, so as to minimize potential contamination. In our study, the exterior bioburden on the IceMole was reduced to levels measured in most clean rooms, and below that of the ice surrounding our sampling target. Potential microbial contaminants were identified during the cleaning process; however, very few were detected in the final englacial sample collected with the IceMole and were present in extremely low abundances (∼0.063\% of 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequences). This cleaning protocol can help minimize contamination when working in remote field locations, support microbiological sampling of terrestrial subglacial environments using melting probes, and help inform planetary protection challenges for Ocean World analog mission concepts.}, language = {en} }