PIA25524: S-MODE Research Vessel and Marine Robots Prepare for Sea
 Target Name:  Earth
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  S-MODE 
 Product Size:  4032 x 3024 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  NASA
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA25524.tif (29.16 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA25524.jpg (1.602 MB)

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

As part of NASA's Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) pilot campaign in 2021, the research vessel Oceanus, owned by the National Science Foundation, set sail to an area 110 nautical miles off the coast of San Francisco, accompanied by a fleet of several types of autonomous marine research vessels.

The wave gliders pictured here on the dock carry a variety of sensors and instruments. Because they're autonomous, their use reduces the risk posed to human researchers who could be exposed to large storms at sea.

S-MODE is a NASA Earth mission to use newly developed in-situ and remote-sensing techniques to look at small-scale ocean whirlpools, eddies, and currents. The observations could help scientists better understand how these dynamics drive the give-and-take of material and energy between the ocean and atmosphere and, ultimately, help shape Earth's climate.

More information about S-MODE is at https://espo.nasa.gov/s-mode/content/S-MODE

Image Credit:
NASA

Image Addition Date:
2022-10-11