Jason is a remote-controlled deep-diving vessel that gives shipboard scientists immediate, real-time access to the sea floor. Instead of making short, expensive dives in a submarine, scientists can stay on deck and guide Jason as deep as 6,500 meters (4 miles) to explore for days on end.
Jason is a type of remotely operated vehicle (ROV), a free-swimming vessel connected by a long fiberoptic tether to its research ship. The 10-km (6 mile) tether delivers power and instructions to Jason and fetches data from it.