Jason (ROV)


Jason is a two-body remotely operated vehicle designed, built, and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Construction of Jason was completed and first launched in 1988 by WHOI’s Deep Submergence Laboratory, and was redesigned in 2002 as the second iteration. The ROV allows scientists and explorers to have access to the seafloor without leaving the deck of a ship.
As of 2020, Jason has completed 147 cruises with over 1200 dives and over 16,000 hours of dive time.

Construction and Equipment

Jasons original commission was in 1988, with a deployment at Hood Canal in Washington state, USA. The first-generation of the ROV was involved in over 200 launches until its retirement in 2001. The second-generation ROV, called the Jason II, had its sea trials in July of 2002 at Nubbin Seamount in the Cascadia basin. In 2016, Jason was upgraded with a new frame, tether, recovery system, and skids that increased the payload by several thousand pounds.
A 10-kilometer electro-optical-mechanical tether delivers electrical power and commands from the ship through Medea and down to Jason, which then returns data and live video imagery. Medea serves as a shock absorber, buffering Jason from the movements of the ship, while providing lighting and a bird’s eye view of the ROV during seafloor operations.
Jason is equipped with sonar imaging as well as video, still, and electronic cameras and appropriate lighting gear. It carries precision navigation equipment and sensors for depth, vehicle attitude, and altitude from the seafloor. Jasons manipulator arms can collect samples that may be put in a small basket attached to the vehicle or, for heavier items, on an attached "elevator" platform that carries them to the surface.

Trivia

A prototype of Jason called Jason Jr. was used with Alvin to explore Titanic in 1986. Jason Jr. was lost at sea in 1991.
Jason and Madea were named after the married characters of Greek mythology.

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