Jason (ROV)

Jason is a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) designed and built by WHOI’s Deep Submergence Laboratory to allow scientists to have access to the seafloor without leaving the deck of a ship.

Jason is a two-body ROV system. A 10-kilometer (6-mile) electro-optical-mechanical tether delivers electrical power and commands from the ship through Medea and down to Jason, which then returns data and live video imagery. Medea serves as a shock absorber, buffering Jason from the movements of the ship, while providing lighting and a bird’s eye view of the ROV during seafloor operations.

Built and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Jason is equipped with sonar imaging as well as video, still, and electronic cameras and appropriate lighting gear. It carries precision navigation equipment and sensors for depth, vehicle attitude (tilt), and altitude from the seafloor. Jason's manipulator arms can collect samples that may be put in a small basket attached to the vehicle or, for heavier items, on an attached "elevator" platform that carries them to the surface.

A prototype of Jason called Jason Jr. was used with Alvin to explore the Titanic in 1986.