Cryobot Performance Assessment in Realistic Ice Environment with Cryotwin

Space exploration for the existence of extraterrestrial life has been a topic of paramount interest. The icy moons of our solar system are among the promising candidates for potentially hosting life. Characterized by a thick outer ice shell that covers a subsurface ocean layer, the definitive establishment of life on these moons would require examining the water physically. A comparatively convenient way to access the water is to melt through the ice shell, i.e., thermal drilling, using cryobots. Before a cryobot can be used on an icy moon, the Antarctic ice sheets serve as a suitable terrestrial analog testing site. Among several constraining factors, total energy and transit time are of substantial significance for these missions. A digital twin that offers a virtual framework, integrating physics and data, can help assess these constrained scenarios and inform decision-making. In this work, we present Cryotwin, a digital twin for cryobots that enables the evaluation of its performance in a realistic ice environment. Specifically, cryobot velocity, which controls transit time, and efficiency, which controls total energy, are considered. It is illustrated how Cryotwin can be used throughout different mission phases, enabling different use cases. In addition, we discuss the underlying state-of-the-art mathematical model in Cryotwin, which represents the complex multi-physics phase-change process observed during thermal drilling. Our initial results demonstrate the potential of Cryotwin in facilitating cryobot design and development, as well as aiding in crucial decisions involving optimization of the total energy and transit time, subject to operating conditions.