- The ”IceMole“ is a novel maneuverable subsurface ice probe for clean in-situ analysis and sampling of subsurface ice and subglacial water/brine. It is developed and build at FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences’ Astronautical Laboratory. A first prototype was successfully tested on the Swiss Morteratsch glacier in 2010. Clean sampling is achieved with a hollow ice screw (as it is used in mountaineering) at the tip of the probe. Maneuverability is achieved with a differentially heated melting head. Funded by the German Space Agency (DLR), a consortium led by FH Aachen currently develops a much more advanced IceMole probe, which includes a sophisticated system for obstacle avoidance, target detection, and navigation in the ice. We intend to use this probe for taking clean samples of subglacial brine at the Blood Falls (McMurdo Dry Valleys, East Antarctica) for chemical and microbiological analysis. In our conference contribution, we 1) describe the IceMole design, 2) report the results of the field tests of the first prototype on the Morteratsch glacier, 3) discuss the probe’s potential for the clean in-situ analysis and sampling of subsurface ice and subglacial liquids, and 4) outline the way ahead in the development of this technology.
