Exploring Titanic at 12,600 Feet - NOAA Mission

In June of 2004, Dr. Robert Ballard and members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Ocean Exploration, explored the remains of the R.M.S. [Royal Mail Ship/Steamer] Titanic. Their mission was to examine and assess why the ship is deteriorating so rapidly.

According to NOAA:

The R.M.S. Titanic team worked aboard the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown from May 30 through June 9 spending 11 days at the wreck site, mapping the ship and conducting scientific analysis of its deterioration. Using the Institute for Exploration (IFE) remotely operated vehicles (ROV's) Hercules and Argus, they were able to conduct a sophisticated documentation of the state of Titanic not possible in the 1980s. This "Look, don't touch" mission utilized high-definition video and stereoscopic still images to provide an updated assessment of the wreck site at an enormous depth of 3,840 meters (12,600 feet).

As the nation's ocean agency, NOAA has a vested interest in the scientific and cultural aspects of the Titanic, and in its appropriate treatment and preservation. NOAA's focus is to build a baseline of scientific information from which we can measure the shipwreck's processes and deterioration, and then apply the knowledge we gain to other deep-water shipwrecks and submerged cultural resources.