Mariana Descent
Surveying hydrothermal vent ecosystems along the Challenger Deep with autonomous submersibles and real-time sonar mapping.
View missionCharting the last unmapped frontier on Earth. Where light fades, discovery begins.
Three active research vessels exploring the deepest trenches of the world's oceans.
Surveying hydrothermal vent ecosystems along the Challenger Deep with autonomous submersibles and real-time sonar mapping.
View missionDocumenting extremophile organisms surviving at sub-zero temperatures beneath the Arctic ice sheet in perpetual darkness.
View missionCollecting sediment core samples from the hadal zone to study microbial life forms that may predate complex organisms.
View missionOrganisms that evolved to create their own light in the eternal darkness of the deep ocean.
Discovered at 4,200 meters in the Mariana Trench, this cnidarian produces a sustained cyan bioluminescence through a previously unknown luciferin variant.
Its neural net exhibits coordinated light patterns that may represent a rudimentary form of communication between colony members.
The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever. We have explored less than five percent of our own ocean.Jacques-Yves Cousteau