A robotic yellow
submarine will journey this week to the world's deepest sinkhole, which already
has taken the life of one diver who sought to reach its bottom and discover the
life that might exist there.
Others have
tried to reach the end of this seemingly bottomless pit in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, known to be at least 925 feet
deep, but no one has ever succeeded.
NASA, which
funded the robotic explorer, views the mission as a test-run for a potential journey
to Europa, a moon of Jupiter thought to contain liquid water beneath miles of
ice--and possibly complex forms of life. New technologies that could help
explore its ocean will be put to the test during the robot's descent.
clipped from: www.space.com 