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Dress rehearsal

A crane lifts WHOI’s newest vehicle, Nereus, off the dock and into the water for testing before it is sent to the “show” — the Challenger Deep in the Pacific’s Mariana Trench. At 11,000 meters — more than a mile deeper than Mount Everest is high — Challenger Deep is arguably one of the most remote locations on Earth. Funded by NSF, Nereus is designed to operate in autonomous and remotely operated modes. It is capable of collecting samples from the seafloor as well as sending imagery back to the ship through its fiber-optic cable. It will make its attempt at the Mariana Trench in late May, and, if successful, will be the only operational vehicle capable of reaching those depths. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)