Looking Under the Stern

Even a ship as new as R/V Neil Armstrong has to undergo periodic inspection to make sure all is well. During an ongoing period in a shipyard in Charleston, S.C., that includes some changes to the ship’s configuration, workers removed one of the propeller shafts for a regular check required by the American Bureau of Shipping, which sets safety standards among the entire academic research fleet. Neil Armstrong is scheduled to be back in the water at the end of the month and back supporting research soon after. (Photo by David Fisichella, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)