A New Mission Sets Off for the Titanic

A new mission to explore the sunken Titanic embarks on Friday, but unlike last year's submersible disaster, this one will involve unmanned subs. The BBC reports that the US company RMS Titanic—which has the salvage rights to the iconic wreck—plans to send down robotic subs to photograph the site in high resolution for a 3D model. "We want to see the wreck with a clarity and precision that's never before been achieved," says one of the expedition leaders, David Gallo.

The ship Dino Chouest, which leaves from Rhode Island on Friday, will serve as the 20-day mission's base of operations, per IFL Science. While at the Titanic site, mission members will pay homage not only to the Titanic victims but to the five men who died aboard the Titan submersible en route to the wreck last year. One of them was Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who worked for RMS Titanic and was supposed to lead this 2024 mission. A plaque in his honor will be laid on the ocean floor next to the Titanic, per the Independent. (More Titanic stories.)