Submarine in space

Editor’s Note: The following article appeared in the June 2007 issue of Texas Innovator.

A Texas-made robotic submarine has been making deep dives in Mexico — but someday it might end up a lot farther from home.

The Deep Phreatic Thermal explorer (DEPTHX), created by Austin’s Stone Aerospace, is an “autonomous” underwater vehicle designed to operate without human guidance. Onboard computers and dozens of electronic sensors allow DEPTHX to navigate independently.

DEPTHX is part of a $5 million NASA-funded study to explore technologies that could be used to explore Europa, a moon of Jupiter. Many scientists believe Europa may be hiding a liquid-water ocean beneath its icy crust.

Space exploration and Texas have gone hand in hand for some time. NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston accounts for more than 26,000 jobs around the state and more than $2.5 billion in wages and $3.5 billion in annual spending.

For more information, contact Stone Aerospace, (512) 247-6385