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Ready for Splashdown

WHOI’s remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) Jason heads onto the dock in Woods Hole after undergoing a $2.4 million overhaul funded by the National Science Foundation that included a year-long engineering effort and took the vehicle out of service for three months. But the parking restrictions won’t last long: ROV Jason is leaving today (March 25) for sea trials off San Diego to test its new mechanical systems and scientific instruments. Among the upgrades: Jason can now pick up payloads of up to two tons and operate without its smaller sister vehicle, Medea. Unlike WHOI’s manned and autonomous underwater vehicles, Jason operates while tethered to a surface ship, where a pilot drives the vehicle. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)