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Ready to Launch

Team members ready the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Jason for testing off the WHOI dock in March 2011 in preparation for an upcoming expedition. Engineers in the National Deep Submergence Facility at WHOI first launched Jason and its sidekick Medea (not pictured) in 1988 for scientific study of the deep ocean and seafloor. Medea serves as a shock absorber, buffering Jason from the movements of the ship, while providing lighting and a bird’s eye view of the ROV during seafloor operations. Both are designed to operate to a maximum depth of 21,385 feet (6,500 meters).(Photo by Erin Koenig, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)