Pilot Mike Skowronski (foreground) conducts a post-dive check of Alvin‘s starboard manipulator arm. Some 75 space shuttle pilots have flown missions, but since 1965, the job of driving Alvin has gone to just 38 men and one woman. At sea, daily chores for pilots begin before dawn, when the entire group rises to check the submersible’s equipment and ensure that all systems are working properly before a dive. Alvin currently is undergoing a multi-million dollar upgrade that will make it a more efficient research vehicle; check in on the project’s progress here.
(Photo by Tom Lanagan, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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