What is Jason and what does it do?
Jason is a remote-controlled deep-diving vessel that gives shipboard scientists immediate, real-time access to the sea floor. Instead of making short, expensive dives in a submarine, scientists can stay on deck and guide Jason as deep as 6,500 meters (4 miles) to explore for days on end. Jason is a type of remotely operated vehicle (ROV), a free-swimming vessel connected by a long fiberoptic tether to its research ship. The 10-km (6 mile) tether delivers power and instructions to Jason and fetches data from it. Pilots and scientists back on the research ship sit in a darkened control room, monitoring instrument readouts and video screens. Using their direct cable connection, they can maneuver the vehicle in real time, direct Jason to take samples of rocks, water and sea life, and do simple construction work, like installing new instruments on the sea floor.
