Current expedition

Deep-Sea Habitats of the Cook Islands

October 1 – 21, 2025
Description and highlights
Current Status
Vehicles Descending
Madison Dapcevich headshot photo
Update
We have just launched our final dive with ROV Little Hercules along the northwestern side of Aitutaki Island. This dive will start at around 3700 meters and climb toward the island for an estimated time of 28 hours. Drop your questions in the chat below, and be sure to check out the otherworldly deep-sea octopus we saw on video earlier this cruise! 
1 hour ago
Ship Location
Waters of the Cook Islands
Our team is in the control room and ready for your questions!

Live Data

ROV Little Hercules icon
ROV Little Hercules Depth
ROV Atalanta icon
ROV (Towsled) Atalanta Depth
Ship Heading
Wind Speed
Wind Angle
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Ship location

Current Watch

Video Engineer

Atalanta Pilot

Hercules Pilot

Navigator

Scientist

Data Logger

Hercules Pilot

Communications

Recent Posts

Little Hercules vs Hercules
Ocean Exploration Trust

On the NA176 expedition exploring the deep ocean around the Cook Islands, our Corps of Exploration is using both ROV Hercules and a smaller vehicle known as ROV Little Hercules. Learn the differences between these two pieces of ocean exploration technology with this fun infographic.
 

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