The JASON Project was founded in 1989 by Dr. Robert D. Ballard, the oceanographer and explorer who discovered the shipwreck of RMS Titanic. Within months, he received thousands of letters from middle school students asking to join his next expedition. Dr. Ballard knew his discovery had tapped a wellspring of curiosity and excitement about science and was determined to feed it.

The result was The JASON Project, named for the mythological Greek explorer. Since then, JASON has connected more than 10 million students and teachers with real scientific exploration and discovery.

JASON offers three award-winning middle school science curricula, Operation: Infinite Potential, Operation: Resilient Planet, and Operation: Monster Storms.

Previous Expeditions

Mysteries of Earth and Mars Working with NASA, JASON examined big questions facing scientists today about the nature and history of both planets through scientific exploration. JASON investigated Mars analogs: locations on Earth where environmental conditions, geologic features, or biologic attributes resemble in some way those thought to exist on Mars, now or at some point in its past. JASON journeyed to four research sites with the research team. At Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the team investigated the similarities and differences of volcanoes on Earth and Mars. At Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, JASON learned how the Mars rovers were designed, built, and tested. At Meteor Crater in Arizona, the team looked at how impact craters tell scientists about the history of a planet. Lastly, at Mono Lake in California, JASON examined how various life forms survive in extreme environments.
Disappearing Wetlands Before Katrina, JASON journeyed to the bayou to learn about Louisiana's disappearing wetlands. Students and teachers examined what wetlands are, why they are disappearing, and how to best manage these ecosystems in Louisiana and in neighborhoods around the world. In particular, classrooms learned how wetlands protect vulnerable coastlines from hurricanes and storm surges, and help filter and purify the small amount of Earth's freshwater. The expedition team journeyed to three sites to research how Louisiana's wetlands support a diversity of aquatic species and demonstrated how computer models help scientists better understand the interactions between species and their wetland environments.
JASON XV: Rainforests at the Crossroads JASON XV traveled to the Panama rainforest and Canal to investigate the area's unique biology and ecology. Students, teachers and scientists conducted research at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's facilities on Barro Colorado Island, located in the middle of the Panama Canal. For the first time, JASON looked at the rainforest ecosystem as a whole by examining life from the forest floor all the way up to the canopy top. Argonauts ascended into the rainforest canopy via a specially designed Bosuns Chair to research life in the treetops. JASON also explored outside the expedition site to investigate Panama's incredible human history and culture, including the native people of Panama and the development of the Panama Canal as one of the world's crossroads for trade, people, plants, and animals. JASON students opened Canal lock doors, helped operate a boat traveling on the Canal, and visited a native tribal village.
JASON XIV: From Shore to Sea JASON examined the unique and dynamic aquatic systems that extend from California's coast to the Channel Islands National Park and National Marine Sanctuary. We helped teachers and students learn about the giant forests, northern elephant seals (pinnipeds), the island fox, island formation, Earth systems, plate tectonics, and Chumash Native American culture.
JASON XIII: Frozen Worlds JASON XIII took students and teachers on an adventure to one of the coldest and most remote regions of our planet and solar system: Alaska. There the JASON team examined current research in geology, glaciology, biology, astrobiology, oceanography, and climatology. They also focused on amazing plants and animals that survive in these frigid environments, from the largest marine mammals to the smallest microbes, as well as the rich cultural history of the area.
JASON XII: Hawaii: A Living Laboratory For this curriculum The JASON Project focused on Hawaii's awe-inspiring volcanoes, unique terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and rich cultural history. Building on some of the research conducted in JASON VI, the expedition went back to the Big Island and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, where students studied steam vents and sulfur banks at the world's most active volcano, Kilauea. JASON XII broke new ground in scientific research and literally witnessed new ground forming at the shore, where searing hot rivers of molten lava meet the Pacific. Here students, teachers and researchers lived and worked in the middle of an active volcano at the "little house on the lava," an abandoned house that was the only thing salvaged during the last lava flow.
Online Expedition: Humpback Whales Why do whales sing? This online-only expedition took JASON off the shores of Maui with a team of scientists sponsored by National Geographic Society to study the relationship between humpback whale singing and the whales' social interactions.
Online Expedition: Hawaii's Mountain Streams The JASON Project and the Earthwatch Institute headed into the mountain streams of Maui with Dr. Eric Benbow, his team of researchers, and a group of Teacher and Student Argonauts. Online participants followed along with each step in the experimental process as the team tracked the movement of limpets through the streams. Their work added to a larger effort to understand the islands' fragile ecosystems and to help the people of Hawaii protect and manage their most precious resource: water.
JASON XI: Going to Extremes JASON XI went to the extremes of earth and space exploration. NASA's International Space Station and NOAA's Aquarius Underwater Laboratory served as our research platforms so JASON could study outer space and underwater environments without time constraints. JASON made it possible for Web users to tour Aquarius, the world's only underwater laboratory that sits on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and to build their own virtual space stations. For this expedition, JASON introduced the concept of iTrips, which allowed Internet users to join a scientific expedition in real-time to remote locations worldwide using satellite technology and the Internet. Students who went "iTripping" with JASON encountered innovations such as live Webcasts, explorer games, space station simulations, and chat sessions with world-renowned space and sea researchers.
JASON X: Rainforests - A Wet & Wild Adventure JASON X took students on A Wet & Wild Adventure to the heart of the world's rainforests. Beginning early in the school year, students explored Castle Rock, the site of an ancient fossil rainforest located outside of Denver, Colorado. Next, JASON journeyed on to the Hoh temperate rainforest in Olympic National Park, Washington. For the live expedition, JASON wired the Peruvian Amazon rainforest for two weeks of live broadcasting. Students explored the rainforest, complete with tarantulas, capybaras, snakes, exotic insects, and plants. They also studied on the world's longest canopy walkway, located at the Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research (ACEER).
JASON IX: Oceans of Earth and Beyond JASON IX took on El Niño in Monterey Bay, California and Bermuda. Students studied the structures of life found in shallow, mid-water, and deep ocean environments. They examined a diverse array of ocean life - from coral reefs in the warm waters of Bermuda to kelp forests in their frigid habitat of Monterey Bay. Advances in technology brought the Atlantic and the Pacific together for ocean-to-ocean communication when, for the first time, SCUBA-diving scientists studying Bermuda 's coral reefs communicated in real-time with divers studying the kelp forests in Monterey Bay. Using a variety of research tools, such as the NOAA ship, McArthur, students were able to see first-hand the effects of El Niño on the Monterey Bay area. JASON IX also brought the first JASON Internet-exclusive expedition to the Guaymas Basin in the weeks following the live telepresence. Students followed online as researchers used the ROV Jason and the manned submersible ALVIN to study hydrothermal vents.
JASON VIII: Journey from the Center of the Earth For this curriculum JASON focused on gushing geysers, frozen glaciers, boiling mudpots, and volcanic activity at two of the most exotic locations on the planet: Iceland and Yellowstone National Park. Both are situated directly above geothermal "hot spots" - areas in Earth's upper mantle where rocks from the lower mantle move upward and melt, forming magma. Students investigated geology, biology, and glaciology of Yellowstone and Iceland and how each of those disciplines relates to movement. A video camera, specially designed to withstand extreme conditions, was deployed into Crested Pool, one of Yellowstone's famous geothermal hot pools. For the first time ever, a live video feed took students and teachers to see organisms that survive in near-boiling temperatures.
JASON VII: Adapting to a Changing Sea During two Expeditions to the Florida Keys, JASON explored how life adapts to a changing sea. Because the majority of the world's population lives in coastal regions, JASON scientists, teachers, and students investigated life at the edge of the sea to look at how humans impact natural cycles, both positively and negatively. Scientists examined climate changes affecting coral reefs, sharks sensing water both shallow and deep, and the biomechanics and behavior of crocodiles. The team utilized such tools as the Navy's NR-1 nuclear submarine and NOAA's unique underwater habitat known as the Aquarius.
JASON VI: Island Earth JASON VI focused on the Big Island of Hawaii, where JASON witnessed the area's largest surface lava flow in 25 years. The JASON team compared the Earth's volcanoes to those on Mars, Venus, and Io (a moon of Jupiter) to learn more about why the Earth is unique in its ability to support life. JASON VI established a benchmark in remote science, giving students a chance to operate robot mechanisms that take samples from active flowing lava. In addition, they drove an ROV eventually bound for Mars; participated in biomedical research on endangered nectar-feeding forest birds; and observed, via computer, infra-red imagery from NASA's facility on Mauna Kea, part of the world's largest astronomical observatory complex.
JASON V: Planet Earth JASON V traveled to the Central American country of Belize to study two of Earth's most fragile and threatened ecosystems: the tropical rain forest and coral reef. Scientists explored life in the canopy of a rainforest and the Western Hemisphere's largest barrier reef. New plant species were discovered, and the relationship between ultraviolet light and coral bleaching was established. Meanwhile, new computer graphic technology developed by JASON allowed scientists to extend ongoing research in the karst limestone cave system underlying Belize and in the mysterious ancient city of Xunantunich, one of the last outposts of the great Mayan empire.
JASON IV: Baja California Sur JASON IV studied two sites along Mexico's Baja California Peninsula. The JASON team examined tubeworms and other organisms that live off hydrothermal vents in the Guaymas Basin in the Sea of Cortez. They also conducted research on migrating gray whales in the San Ignacio lagoon on the Pacific coast. During JASON IV, remote science was conducted for the first time when scientists in laboratories thousands of miles away used JASON to retrieve specimens, measure temperature, collect water, and photograph rare creatures.
JASON III: Galapagos Islands JASON III followed the footsteps of Charles Darwin in the Galapagos Islands. For the first time, land-based as well as underwater sites, were explored as scientists examined animal, bird, and marine species found nowhere else on earth. A diver in a specially designed diving helmet broadcast live from underwater. Just ten days before this expedition was to begin, the barge carrying most of the expedition equipment sank in 9,000 feet of water. The U.S. and Ecuadorian governments worked with JASON sponsors and supporters worldwide to replace the necessary equipment, and the broadcasts began on time.
JASON II: The Great Lakes JASON II undertook a comprehensive examination of two perfectly preserved War of 1812 warships that had been on the bottom of Lake Ontario since 1813, succeeding in the first computer mosaicing of the ships. For the first time, students at various downlink sites were able to "drive" the ROV Jason via a satellite link.
JASON I: The Mediterranean Sea Launching the first JASON expedition in 1989, JASON I discovered the first hydrothermal vents in the Mediterranean Sea, examined an ancient Roman shipwreck, and retrieved artifacts from 2,100 feet of water. During this expedition, students used a two-way satellite audio system to question expedition scientists as they worked.