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Title
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Machines on Expedition
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Type
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Primary: Mission Briefing Article
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Operation
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Terminal Velocity
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Mission:
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ROVs
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Print Page
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72
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Subjects
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Personal and social issues | Humans and the environment | Renewable resources | Science and technology | Energy technology | Science
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Grades
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5 | 6 | 7 | 8
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Keywords
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energy policy, energy source, limitation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, BioEnergy Science Center, Dr. Martin Keller, alternative fuel source, alternative energy resource, energy portfolio, biofuel, solar, wind, geothermal, fossil fuel, oil, coal, natural gas, nonrenewable, non-renewable, negative, pollution, global climate change, energy resource, renewable, inexhaustible, sun, transform, electrical energy, photovoltaic cell, charge, solar thermal power plant, turbine generator, carbon dioxide, wind turbine, rotor, generator, wind farm, geothermal energy, nuclear, fusion, plant, ethanol, methane, biodiesel, ethanol, poplar tree, alcohol, cellulose, alpaca, microorganism, wood beetle, enzyme, bacteria, grub, alternative
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Duration
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00:00:00 (HH:MM:SS)
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Audience
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Teachers | Elementary Grades | Junior High
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Created On
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7/28/2011
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From: Terminal Velocity ROVs (pp: 72) |
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Machines on Expedition This article discusses the history of Remotely Operated Vehicles and the many different tasks they are designed to complete. Dr. Bob Ballard's use of ROVs in underwater exploration is also covered, as well as information on his work to help look for life on Europa. |
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Dr. Bob Ballard committed himself to working for 30 years in a deep diving submersible. His goal was to explore, discover, and chart the geologic features of the bottom of the ocean. He wanted proof that the theory of plate tectonics was at work, spreading the ocean crust apart along the mid-ocean ridge in the middle of the
Atlantic Ocean.
Since the average depth of the ocean is 4,267 m (14,000 ft), he would start each day at 6
a.m. in the submersible, Alvin. Dr. Ballard's commute into the depths would take 2 1⁄2 hours. After exploring for up to four hours, he would make the arduous journey back. In those few hours each day at the bottom of the ocean, Dr. Ballard and his team were the first to witness new life forms— ones that did not need light anywhere in the ecosystem to survive. He also found the proof of sea- floor spreading along the mid-Atlantic ridge. These were amazing discoveries. Even so, putting a person on the bottom of the ocean required a tremendous effort—not only were time and money at stake, but the safety of the crew was also at risk.
Dr. Ballard kept thinking that if he could teleport himself to the bottom of the ocean he could explore so much more. Then he started thinking about robots. If a robot explored the ocean and he could see through the robot's eyes, imagine how much exploration could take place. "At first, I thought the only way to appreciate the underwater world was to physically descend beneath the
waves and see it firsthand. But few people have this opportunity and even for those who can, the journey is long, frustrating, and very expensive for what time you can spend there."
He then decided to put his efforts into a robot that would explore for him.
The History of ROVs
A Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) is a At this time, ROV technology was
Machines on Expedition
Machines on Expedition
Dr. Bob Ballard committed himself to working for 30 years in
starting to
robotic underwater vehicle that is connected to a surface ship. On board the ship, a person controls the movement of the ROV through a communications cable, often called a tether. Some ROVs carry a power source, while others receive power through a cable.
In the 1950s, the British military used ROVs to retrieve expensive practice torpedoes, and in the 1960s the United States developed ROVs to help locate and recover lost military equipment. Into the 1970s and early 80s, oil and gas companies pioneered the use of ROVs for finding new sources of petroleum that were beyond a diver's ability to reach.
At this time, ROV technology was sarting to get better and cheaper, making ROVs accessible to those in the scientific community. This is when Dr. Ballard decided to push the boundaries of both research and engineering. He wrote an article for National Geographic Magazine that heralded a new era in underwater exploration. The article described how underwater exploration could be done from anywhere in the world with a robot
Dr. Ballard's first search robot, Argo, was completed in 1985. He also sent another ROV called JASON, to explore the depth of the ocean. Bob used the ROVs to find the Bismarck, a German battleship, the Titanic, and PT-109, John F. Kennedy's ship in World War II.
Today, ROVs and closely related untethered vehicles like rovers, Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), and Unmanned Arial Vehicles (UAVs), are making discoveries all over Earth and even on other planets like
Mars.
How Things Work
ROVs come in all shapes and sizes designed for their tasks. Whether called an ROV, a rover, an AUV, or an AUS, these machines are designed and programmed for the environment they will explore. Whether exploring the depths of the ocean, a planet in our solar system, or the inner workings of a hurricane, the vehicles are engineering wonders. Some ROVs are operated with controls much like those found in a video game, whereas other ROVs are more autonomous (self-controlling).
ROVs have many things in common, including propulsion and navigation systems, communication systems, sensing devices, and collection and sampling tools.
ROVs in Action
Whether called an ROV, UAV, or AUV, ROVs are used in many locations to perform a variety of tasks that are too dangerous, time-consuming, or challenging for a human to do. Whether under water, in space, or in a volcano, these vehicles are engineered to meet the wide range of challenges they face. The only limitations scientists see are getting the ROV to the location and maintaining the ROV's function in the local environment. Launched from ships, trucks, and rockets, these ROVs are expanding our knowledge of our planet and our solar system.
NOAA AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle)
This vehicle is pre-programmed with a route to collect ocean data like water temperature, salinity, and currents. It can stay underwater for weeks, then surface to transmit the data it collected. Designed to be part of a fleet of AUVs that will help monitor the world's oceans, this AUV has crossed the
Atlantic successfully.
Great Lakes Water Institute ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle)
This ROV was instrumental in discovering invasive species—the Quagga and Zebra mussels—in Lake Michigan. Amazingly, it was assembled mostly from parts off the shelves of a local hardware store. This ROV has cameras and a vacuum-like device to collect samples from the bottom of Lake Michigan. It also has cameras to help the controller navigate the ROV to sampling locations.
 NOAA Aerosonde UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)
This vehicle flies through hurricanes to collect weather data at lower altitudes than any manned plane can fly. Scientists are discovering that hurricanes are more complex and behave differently than can be observed by manned planes. In one case, wind speeds measured by this UAV were one full category stronger than those measured by the manned plane flying through the same storm.
NASA Rover Curiosity
Curiosity follows in the footsteps of the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Curiosity is the next generation of NASA's missions to Mars. Many scientists hypothesize that where water or ice exists on Mars, so will the evidence for past or even current life. Curiosity is therefore designed to "follow" the water.
Into the Future
As scientists and engineers find new uses for ROVs and other unmanned vehicles, Dr. Ballard has accepted another challenge: to help NASA find life on Europa, a moon of Jupiter. Because of the elliptical nature of its orbit, Europa is believed to have active plate tectonics. The orbit forces Europa into and out of the strong gravitational pull of Jupiter, causing the rocks deep within the moon to shift, creating friction and heat. Scientists speculate that beneath the ice on Europa's surface, lies an ocean of water which has active volcanoes. They believe the ice was melted because of this volcanic activity, creating an ocean beneath the ice. As with the search for life on Mars, many scientists think that where liquid water and volcanic activity exists, so does life.
To meet this challenge, scientists and engineers all over the world are collaborating to design a vehicle that will be launched from Earth, navigate to Europa, and land on the ice. Then the vehicle would have to deploy a ROV that would first melt its way downward through the ice, to the ocean below. At the base of the ice cover, it would release an AUV which would search for active hydrothermal vents, document what it finds, and return to its launch point to transmit the findings back to Earth through the ROV's tether. Because Dr. Ballard is a leader in ocean exploration with ROVs, he has been asked to help plan this new expedition. One can only imagine what we will find and who will be on that team of discovery.
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