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From Seafloor to the Space Station

Biologist Tim Shank (in baseball cap) has had memorable conversations while diving in the submersible Alvin, but his chat with an astronaut hovering 250 miles above Earth’s surface was a first. Astronaut Suni Williams, who spent 7 months at the International Space Station, spoke via satellite with Shank while he was diving nearly two miles beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean. They compared notes on the challenges and rewards of science work in extreme environments, lessons they will share with the public at 4 pm on Wednesday September 12 in Woods Hole. (Photo courtesy of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution archives)