In honor of its 20th anniversary, the 1997 film, Titanic, is being brought back to the big screen, for one week only, in select AMC Theatres.
Most of the film is based on real events. In 1985, the eventual founder of URI’s Inner Space Center, Graduate School of Oceanography professor, Dr. Robert Ballard, discovered the wreck in its resting place at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean.
On December 8th, 1941, shortly after the World War II attack on Pearl Harbor, thirty-six Japanese, Mitsubishi G3M2 Nell bombers appeared in the skies above Wake Island Atoll. A battle ensued. Continue reading Rediscovering History: Wake Island Atoll
From November 28 to December 5, 2016, the Inner Space Center (ISC) supported a science verification cruise for the R/V Sally Ride, one of two, new vessels in the U.S. Academic Research Fleet. These short cruises are intended to test the ship, crew, and science systems to make sure that all are in proper working order before the ship departs for its first research expedition. The Sally Ride was named after the late Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, who was part of the space shuttle Challenger crew in 1983.
The ISC team tested the ship’s capabilities to support the Jason remotely operated vehicle (ROV) system as well as ship-to-shore telepresence technologies and protocols that will enable shore-based participation during ROV dives. Director of the ISC, Dr. Dwight Coleman, installed a mobile telepresence unit (MTU) on board. This unit allows for any ship to have telepresence capabilities.
During the cruise, ROV Jason was used for a variety of exploration activities. Geophysicist, Dr. Mark Zumberge, and his group from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, used Jason to attach geophysical sensors to the sea floor. Dr. Lisa Levin, also from Scripps, used the ROV system to continue biological survey of the seafloor around the Del Mar methane seep near San Diego, CA.
Along with ROV operations, the R/V Sally Ride was able to connect to the Birch Aquarium. Amanda Netburn, Bruce Applegate, and Dwight Coleman hosted live broadcasts to the aquarium’s new Sally Ride exhibit.
For more details about the R/V Sally Ride, visit their website.
The Inner Space Center (ISC) has been working in conjunction with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to investigate the sinking of the El Faro cargo ship. The 790-foot cargo ship sank off the Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin in October 2015. Continue reading Inner Space Center helps locate black box from El Faro shipwreck
Starting February 24, the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer will be leaving port in Hawaii to start their field season exploring waters of the Hawaiian Islands. The NOAA team will start their expedition in Pearl Harbor and will end the cruise leg at Kwajalein Atoll. Continue reading 2016 Okeanos Explorer Field Season – Hohonu Moana
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a world-class research and exploration vessel called the Okeanos Explorer. She’s a beautiful ship with some brand-new gear to send us high-def video and audio from the bottom of the ocean. Continue reading NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer Overview
It’s been a little over a week since the Nautilus has been searching the depths for the next big discovery. Not to downplay anything here – I mean, they have been at sea since early June you know. So far this summer they have been exploring the “Unknown America.” Continue reading E/V Nautilus, Back in the Game
Welcome to the second installment of the Inner Space Center’s ‘Wreck-ollections’, wherein we take a closer look at some of the fascinating shipwrecks we’ve visited or re-discovered. This season has found us diving on a series of historical wrecks from WWII, and so we will go back to the beginning of the summer, to the wreck of U-boat 166. Continue reading Wreck-ollections: U-Boat 166
