ALT Top left: 2 teachers sit at a table and work on an activity involving a black box and colorful pencils. Top right: A multicolored image of undersea mountains. Bottom left: An image of remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer being raised from the water. Bottom right: Two teachers sit at a table. One uses a syringe for a workshop activity.

ALT A map of the Pacific Ocean. A yellow line is drawn between Suva, Fiji, and Honolulu, Hawai'i.

ALT A 3x3 grid shows an assortment of photos of deep-sea organisms in hues of red, yellow, pink, and orange.

ALT Eight people in hard hats and gloves pose with sampling equipment on the deck of a research vessel at sea.

ALT A tan dead sponge stalk sits on a rocky seafloor, surrounded by pinkish brittle stars.

ALT A close-up view of robotic equipment positioned over a sandy, rocky surface. On the left is a white cylindrical component secured with metal bands and topped with a bright pink-red section labeled “#2.” At center-right, a dark metallic articulated mechanism with joints, bolts, and a small green indicator light extends downward to a cable or tether. A tan cylindrical tube or instrument occupies the lower center, while dark structural supports frame both sides of the image. The ground is covered with fine tan dust and numerous irregular dark rocks.

ALT A close-up view shows several small, pale, translucent aquatic organisms attached at intervals to a thin, vertical brown strand near the center of the image. Each organism has a rounded or elongated white body with fine, hairlike appendages extending outward; some also show darker internal markings. The strand runs from the top to the bottom of the frame. The background is softly blurred in muted green and olive tones, with scattered dark, rounded shapes suggesting vegetation or objects beneath the water’s surface.

ALT One of the 268 Wisconsin-built Nash automobiles that remain in Senator’s hull. Image courtesy of Hibbard Inshore.

ALT The Saab Sabertooth hybrid autonomous underwater vehicle/remotely operated vehicle on the back deck of Research Vessel Laurentian and ready for deployment to explore Senator. Image courtesy of Exploring Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary at Scale.

ALT A bright yellow ocean sponge rests next to a small pink sea star on a dark rocky seabed.

ALT Smiling researcher holding a large porous rock and specimen label beside laboratory imaging equipment and a laptop displaying sample records.

ALT A rocky terrain framed by robotic vehicle equipment and sensor components.

ALT A glass sponge with filaments attaching it to a rock

ALT A squat lobster sits within a rock crevice

ALT A stalked glass sponge with a big, round top

ALT A remotely operated vehicle shines light on a rocky seafloor

ALT A technical diver uses a small light to investigate a steep coral reef wall in deep ocean water with two other divers in the background. Image courtesy of Richard Pyle.

ALT Close look at coral polyps

ALT A coral rise up into the water column off a rocky, sedimented seafloor.

ALT A glass sponge

ALT A crinoid on a sponge stalk

ALT A field of polymetallic nodules on the seafloor

ALT A remotely operated vehicle shines lights over a sedimented, rocky seafloor

ALT A reddish-brown bobtail squid with big eyes rests on the ocean floor below a September calendar overlay and the NOAA Ocean Exploration logo.