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Nereus in miniature

Casey Machado, of the Applied Ocean Physics & Engineering department, holds a model of the Hybrid Remotely Operated Vehicle Nereus. The model —a 1/14th scale replica of the deep-diving vehicle— was fabricated in the WHOI machine shop. Machado then painted and finished the rest by hand.  The Nereus model was commissioned for display at several events in April 2010, including a gala in the Smithsonian’s Ocean Hall in Washington, D.C., celebrating the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Navy bathyscaphe Trieste‘s historic dive to the bottom of the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench. Nereus repeated this feat in June 2009, marking the next step in exploration of the Challenger Deep. The model was given to the National Science Foundation as a show of gratitude for making the Nereus project possible.

(Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)