(CNN) Robots are the intrepid explorers of our solar system, boldly venturing where humans can't to capture images and scientific data about other planets and moons. Because we're still learning about these other bodies, robotic explorers may need to be more adaptable to strange and inhospitable environments.

Enter the Shapeshifter, a Transformer-esque collection of mini robots that can form one machine or act independently. A team is currently testing the concept using a 3D-printed prototype at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, according to NASA

This illustration shows the small robots that form Shapeshifter. They could form a sphere that can roll on the ground.

The concept could include 12 robots that can fly or swim, exploring caves and oceans and going where other robots haven't been able to explore. They're called cobots, each equipped with a propeller. The researchers envision cobots that could come together automatically, without anyone from Earth sending commands, to form into a rolling sphere, fly independently or even create a daisy chain while exploring a cave.

The current prototype looks more like a semi-autonomous hamster wheel with a drone at the center. It can split and form two flying drones. It's being tested as part of NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts research program. The program funds concepts that sound impossible but could help make scientific discoveries in the future.

Shapeshifter's current prototype is tested in the robotics yard of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Ali Agha, a principal investigator at JPL, could see Shapeshifter exploring Titan, Saturn's moon with bodies of liquid methane on the surface. A drone lander called Dragonfly will set off for Titan in 2026 to follow up on observations made by NASA's Cassini mission that previously explored Saturn and Titan. Cassini was able to perform only flybys of Titan.

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