---
title: "These Tiny “Fruit Fly Bots” Could Explore Distant Planets"
description: "A doctoral student at the University of California, Berkeley built tiny flapping-wing and hopping robots that could one day explore distant planets."
date: "2019-09-04"
modified: "2019-09-04"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tiny-robots-explore-distant-planets"
categories:
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "exploration"
  - "microrobots"
  - "the digest"
  - "tiny robots"
---

# These Tiny “Fruit Fly Bots” Could Explore Distant Planets

![A doctoral student at the University of California, Berkeley built tiny flapping-wing and hopping robots that could one day explore distant planets.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/microrobots-explore-distant-planets.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Hopping and Flapping

Exploring distant planets with cumbersome rovers comes with countless challenges. But microrobotics could offer a whole new way to reconnoiter alien environments.

A doctoral student at the University of California, Berkeley named Palak Bhushan built two tiny robots: a flying one that can flap its tiny wings and weighs just one milligram, and a 75 milligram hopping robot that can jump up to eight millimeters six times per minute.

"One of the very good applications that we see her is for exploration... especially in the context or interplanetary exploration," Bhushan [told *Space.com*](<https://www.space.com/jumping-flapping-microrobots-swarm-planets.html>).

## Tricky Terrain

Two [papers describing](<https://arxiv.org/pdf/1908.03203.pdf>) of Bhushan's research were published to the preprint archive *arXiv* earlier this month.

Thanks to their tiny size and minuscule weight, the robots could make short work of tricky terrain. They could also land in mountainous and rocky regions where much larger rovers are not able to.

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/1908.jpg>)

## Swarming Mars

Theoretically, thousands or tens of thousands of the bots could be sent to the surface of distant planets, greatly improving their chances of survival.

Additionally, tiny flapping-wing robots could fare well in denser atmospheres thanks to much smaller energy requirements for travel. In low density atmospheres like on Mars, a hopping robot could have a much easier time getting around as well.

To make sure they don't get lost, Bhushan proposes to give the tiny robots a home base aboard a rover to aid in communication.

**READ MORE:** [These Jumping, Flapping Microrobots Could Swarm On Far-Off Worlds](<https://www.space.com/jumping-flapping-microrobots-swarm-planets.html>) \[*Space.com*\]

**More on tiny robots:** *[Tiny Spies: This Insect-Like Flying Robot is Smaller Than a Penny](<https://futurism.com/tiny-insect-drone-robot-four-wings>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)