Robotically Exploring the Alien World of Earth’s Deep Ocean with Dr. Richard Camilli

Our guest is Dr. Richard Camilli, associate scientist from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the principal investigator of an expedition to robotically explore the undersea volcanoes of Santorini, Greece, featured in episode 3 of the NASA documentary series: Our Alien Earth. Dr. Camilli and his interdisciplinary team are researching how fleets of robotic vehicles can embody the mind of a scientist, exploring, analyzing, and adapting to new environments without human intervention; a key step for NASA’s future plans to explore ocean worlds and search for signs of alien life. You can watch the full episode documenting one of Richard’s incredible voyages at sea now on NASA (). What is Ask An Astrobiologist? Once a month, the NASA Astrobiology Program host a one-hour program where the public is invited to interact with a high-profile astrobiologist, who replies to Twitter and YouTube comment questions live on video. Ask An Astrobiologist: Episode 70 Robotically Exploring the Alien World of Earth’s Deep Ocean Featuring Dr. Richard Camilli (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) Hosted by Dr. Graham Lau (Blue Marble Space Institute of Science) Production Assistants: Sarah Treadwell (Blue Marble Space Institute of Science) Anurup Mohanty (Blue Marble Space Institute of Science) Mariam Naseem (Blue Marble Space Institute of Science) Directed by Mike Toillion (NASA Astrobiology Program) Illustrations by Melissa Flower () Music & Animation by Mike Toillion (NASA Astrobiology Program)