NASA To Use Mars Pathfinder Technology To Search For Sunken Whaling Fleet In Arctic Ocean
Ron Baalke
Ames Research Center July 23, 1998
Moffett Field, CA
(Phone: 650/604-3937)
mmewh...@mail.arc.nasa.gov
RELEASE: 98-42AR
NASA TO USE MARS PATHFINDER TECHNOLOGY TO SEARCH FOR SUNKEN WHALING FLEET IN
ARCTIC OCEAN
Using technology originally developed for the Mars Pathfinder, NASA
scientists will begin a search next month for a whaling fleet lost in 1871
beneath the frigid waters of the Arctic Ocean.
Scientists from NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, will use an
underwater telepresence remotely operated vehicle (TROV) equipped with a
pair of stereo video cameras to record underwater footage in 3-D. Computer
software developed for Pathfinder by the Intelligent Mechanisms Group (IMG)
at Ames will be used to produce a virtual reality computer simulation of the
underwater environment. Scientists believe these marine maps could be used
for astrobiology hydrothermal vent research and for marine biology and
archaeology research.
Scientists will deploy the TROV from aboard the U.S. Coast Guard cutter
Polar Star, one of the world's most powerful non-nuclear icebreakers, which
will depart from Seattle and travel north along the Canadian and Alaskan
coasts to Point Barrow. During its journey, the Polar Star will pass through
the waters near Icy Cape, where the New Bedford whaling fleet sank in
September of 1871 after becoming trapped in the ice and abandoned.
"We will attempt to locate the sunken fleet, reportedly situated between 27
and 52 feet of water, and deploy the TROV to take images of at least a few
of the ships," said Jeff Ota, an Ames research engineer and the project
leader. "TROV's stereo cameras along with the software developed by the IMG
promise to attain a new level of 3D accuracy, detail and realism that has
not been achieved to date in the underwater realm," Ota added.
During the July 29-Aug. 30 Arctic expedition, NASA scientists will work
with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) West Coast
and Polar Regions Undersea Research Center, Santa Clara University and the
U.S. Coast Guard to try to locate the sunken whaling fleet. They will also
search for the remains of a mastodon or mammoth, extinct mammals resembling
giant elephants.
The expedition includes educational outreach components called the Learning
Technologies Project led by Mark Leon of Ames and the "Jeremy Project."
Named after Jeremy Bates, Santa Clara University's student principal
investigator, the project will use NASA's latest technological advances such
as robotic underwater rovers, stereo imagery and computer software, to make
the marine environment more accessible. Project students plan to disseminate
information from the expedition to schools throughout the nation during
"Live from the Arctic" Internet web chats in an effort to stimulate interest
in marine research.
"It is our hope that NASA's technology will make underwater research more
efficient and more accurate and give us a better picture of how we have
historically related to the sea," Bates said. "We want to make it easier for
scientists to map marine archeological sites more accurately and
efficiently."
In addition to Bates, student participants include Aaron Weast, Santa Clara
University, Santa Clara, CA; Alex Derbes, Case Western University,
Cleveland, OH; Damien Canerot, Aptos High School, Aptos, CA; Jamie Silva,
Broadway High School, San Jose, CA; and Seth Carter, a Raytheon Corp.,
contractor from Ames.
During the expedition, project team members will stop at towns and villages
along the Alaskan coast and discuss environmental concerns with residents in
Kodiak, Nome, Chuckchi and Point Barrow. "More than anything else, it is our
hope that this cooperative project will be used as a stepping stone for
scientists in the future in order to learn about mankind's past and
continuing relationship with the sea," Ota said.
Total cost of the project is $31,500. NASA is contributing $7,500 and a
Silicon Graphics computer to the project, NOAA is contributing $15,000 and
Santa Clara University is contributing $9,000. Deep Ocean Engineering, Inc.,
of San Leandro, CA, is providing a Phantom XTL remotely operated vehicle
(ROV) for the expedition.
Further information about the Jeremy Project may be obtained at its website:
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/arctic