submersible Archives

Sediment core sampling procedure adapted from the expedition’s press release (Schmidt Ocean Institute, SOI), licensed under CC BY 4.0 -- CAB

Analog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

New Sulfur-dependent Ecosystem In A Gas Vent In The Depths Of The Chilean Pacific

by Keith CowingMay 7, 2026May 7, 2026

Unlike most similar emanations described to date, this one shows no evidence of methane emission or consumption. The absence of this molecule and its abundance of sulfur make it a […]

NOAA Ocean Exploration’s recently released environmental DNA (eDNA) data help us better understand what lives in the deep ocean. Among these data is evidence of invertebrates, like Crossota millsae (the jellyfish seen here); fish; marine mammals; microbes; and more. While some of the organisms found in these data have been seen on previous expeditions on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, others, like Macropinna microstoma (barreleye fish), remain elusive. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2019 Southeastern U.S. Deep-sea Exploration. Download largest version (jpg, 893.9 KB).

Analog Studies, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Water World Genomics: Unlocking Ocean Secrets With eDNA

by Keith CowingMay 6, 2026May 6, 2026

Editor’s note: with recent speculation about the potential habitability of other worlds and understanding the processes whereby other biospheres arise and evolve, thought needs to be given to developing sensor […]

Hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor spew black smoke, which forms when super-hot vent water hits the cold ocean. Scientists view them as candidates for where life may have started, because they provide heat, minerals and chemical energy that early life could have used to form and grow. Photo: Richard Lutz

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Extinction events, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Did Impacts From Meteors Help Start Life On Earth?

by Keith CowingMay 6, 2026May 6, 2026

Meteor impacts may have helped spark life on Earth, creating hot, chemical-rich environments where the first living cells could take shape, according to research integrated by a recent Rutgers University […]

Representative anchoring mechanisms for small-body sampling robots. (a) Mechanical penetration.

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Meteorites & Asteroids, Microgravity, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report

Offworld Science Droids: A Review Maps Key Technologies For Small-body Sampling Robots

by Keith CowingApril 30, 2026April 30, 2026

Unlike planetary rovers operating on the Moon or Mars, robots working on asteroids and comets must interact with surfaces where gravity is extremely weak, terrain is highly irregular, and material […]

A diver’s view looking up to the opening of Amberjack Hole. Image courtesy of Mote Marine Laboratory via NOAA.

Analog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Gulf Of Mexico Blue Hole Harbors High Levels Of Novel Microbial Lineages

by Keith CowingMarch 28, 2026March 28, 2026

Exploration of oxygen-depleted marine environments has consistently revealed novel microbial taxa and metabolic capabilities that expand our understanding of microbial evolution and ecology.

The buoyancy adjustment made on the first day of Totten Photo: JARE67 Miho Ikeda (March 6, 2026)

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ocean Planet Exploration: Recovery Of NIPR AUV MONACA

by Keith CowingMarch 26, 2026March 26, 2026

Editor’s note: When we start to mount Astrobiology missions to explore ocean worlds we’ll need ways for our robotic submersibles to observe and interact with whatever life forms they may […]

The Alvin is pictured sampling the P hydrothermal vent, which is an underwater volcano that forms at spreading and converging plate boundaries that spews out hot water that’s been heating underneath the earth’s crust. -- University of Delaware

Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

University of Delaware Robotics Study The Depths Of Earth’s Ocean

by Keith CowingMarch 23, 2026March 23, 2026

From the East Pacific Rise in the Pacific Ocean to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the Atlantic, researchers from the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean and Environment led the […]

A Map of CTD downcast events on which metagenomics samples were taken, colored according to the number of samples taken on the cast.

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Researchers Uncover Hidden Genetic World in Antarctic Waters

by Keith CowingMarch 12, 2026March 12, 2026

The researchers analyzed DNA from water samples collected throughout the Southern Ocean during a three-month expedition in late 2016 and early 2017. After sequencing the DNA, they cross-referenced their results […]

New benchmark AX-403 was deployed at the base of the western caldera wall of the Axial Seamount volcano. This photo was taken during the ROV Jason dive J2-1432 of the Axial Seamount Cruise, June 19 to July 2, 2022 from the R/V Thompson. Public Domain. Original photo courtesy of NOAA via USGS larger image

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Methanothermococcus jasoni sp. nov., A Novel Thermophilic Methanogen From Subseafloor Hydrothermal Vent Fluids Of Axial Seamount, Juan de Fuca Ridge

by Keith CowingMarch 10, 2026March 10, 2026

Low-temperature (34 °C) hydrothermal fluid was collected from Axial Seamount along the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the northeast Pacific Ocean.

The Alvin submersible is recovered on deck following a seven-hour dive, concluding a successful day of hydrothermal vent sampling. Photo courtesy of Will Carter

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Education and Outreach, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Life Support Systems, Missions & Hardware, People Of Astrobiology, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Tricorders & Sensors, Video, Audio, Webcasts, Podcasts, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ocean Planet Recon: ASU Expedition Finds An Aquatic World Teeming With Life

by Keith CowingMarch 5, 2026March 5, 2026

Imagine descending nearly a mile and a half into a watery abyss, watching the sunlight disappear as the world around you turns completely black. Then suddenly, you find yourself surrounded […]