The subsea (systematic underwater biogeochemical science and exploration analog) program will conduct real (non-simulated) telerobotic science to understand the habitability potential of ocean…

This is a $1,012,128.49 cooperative agreement awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Shared Services Center to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), a private non-profit research organization located in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The contract supports the SUBSEA (Systematic Underwater Biogeochemical Science and Exploration Analog) program, which will conduct real-world robotic science to understand the habitability potential of ocean worlds in our solar system. The work will focus on observing, collecting data, and gathering samples from fluid vents at deep ocean seamounts as analogs to hydrothermal systems on other planetary bodies. The research will leverage the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Exploration Vessel Nautilus and its remotely operated vehicles, Hercules and Argus. No set-aside designation was used for this award. The agreement has a completion date of May 26, 2022.

The subsea (systematic underwater biogeochemical science and exploration analog) program will conduct real (non-simulated) telerobotic science to understand the habitability potential of ocean worlds in our solar system. Our science will include observation, instrument data gathering, and sample collection focused on fluid venting at isolated seamounts in the deep ocean as analog environments to hydrothermal systems on other ocean worlds. We will conduct our scientific fieldwork from the exploration vessel (e/v) nautilus, which is equipped with the hercules and argus remotely operated vehicles (rovs). Access to this infrastructure is enabled through in-kind support from the national oceanographic and atmospheric administration (NOAA) office of ocean exploration and research (OER). These rovs are controlled under low latency feedback conditions by proximal (ship-based) human operators who are provided scientific support and exploration direction by a remote, distributed science team (DST) who are located at exploration command centers (eccs) throughout the U.S. And connected to the nautilus via a telepresence-enabled communications infrastructure. The proposal will respond to all three criteria in the pstar call: technology, science operations and science. Work undertaken at whoi will focus primarily upon science aspects of the program.