The wreck was like a bug on the wall, a jumbly shape splayed on the abyssal plain. It was noticed by a team of autonomous-underwater-vehicle operators on board a subsea exploration vessel, working at an undisclosed location in the Atlantic Ocean, about a thousand miles from the nearest shore. The analysts belonged to a small private company that specializes in deep-sea search operations; I have been asked not to name it. They were looking for something else. In the past decade, the company has helped to transform the exploration of the seabed by deploying fleets of A.U.V.s--underwater drones--which cruise in formation, mapping large areas of the ocean floor with high-definition imagery.

An emission-free'nuclear powered' 984ft-long science exploration vessel, as large as the world's longest cruise ship will launch in 2025 with 22 cutting edge laboratories and over 400 people on board. The Earth 300 vessel has been designed to'unite science and exploration to confront Earth's greatest challenges,' according the founder of Iddes Yacht, manufacturer of the ship, Salas Jefferson, who says it will cater for about 160 scientists at one time. The ship will be packed with green technology, a'science sphere', and will be powered by a Molten Salt Reactor, a type of nuclear power generator that uses molten fluoride salts as a coolant and operates at low pressure. When launched, it will act as an'extreme technology platform for science, exploration and innovation at sea', according to Iddes, who say its 22 laboratories will be equipped with robotics and artificial intelligence systems. An emission-free'nuclear powered' 984ft-long science exploration vessel, as large as the world's longest cruise ship will launch in 2025 with 22 cutting edge laboratories and over 400 people on board The Iddes Yacht vessel has been designed to'unite science and exploration to confront Earth's greatest challenges,' according founder Salas Jefferson, who says it will cater for about 160 scientists at one time The ship will be packed with green technology, a'science sphere', and will be powered by a Molten Salt Reactor, a type of nuclear power generator that uses molten fluoride salts as a coolant and operates at low pressure Featuring naval architecture by the NED Project, Earth 300 will introduce'features found on cruise, expedition, research and luxury yachts but she will be none of them,' said Earth 300 chief executive Aaron Olivera. The firm behind the design say it will have a'science city' inside a huge sphere, an observation deck and an interior dedicated to scientific research and expedition.