In Greek mythology, the heroic Jason was cursed by the gods for abandoning his erstwhile lover, Medea; he died miserable and alone. Fortunately, his remotely operated vehicle (ROV) alter ego has avoided his ignoble fate, even managing to peacefully co-exist with its Medea counterpart.
Jason enables oceanographers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) to plumb the seafloor from the comfort of a ship's deck. In this two-body system, Jason does the exploring while Medea acts as a relay to the ship, decoupling Jason from the ship's movements and delivering electrical power and data through a 6-mile fiber-optic tether.
Jason allowed scientists to capture the first ever video footage of an erupting deep submarine volcano near Guam. Shrugging off the considerable pressure at a depth of 1,700 feet, Jason watched lava slowly ooze out of the vent and explored the unique ecosystem that surrounded it. Last year, Jason reprised its role by helping scientists obtain video of the deepest underwater eruption ever observed.