A Month at Sea: Scientists Prepare to Set Sail for NASA’s S-MODE Mission
Complete transcript available.
In early October, the research vessel Bold Horizon set sail from Newport, Oregon, and joined a small fleet of planes, drones, and other high-tech craft chasing the ocean’s shapeshifting physics. NASA’s Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) looks at whirlpools, currents, and other dynamics at the air-sea boundary. The goal is to understand how these dynamics drive the give-and-take of nutrients and energy between the ocean and atmosphere and, ultimately, help shape Earth’s climate.
Music credit: “Blue Switch” “The Journey Begins” “Sunbeams” from Universal Production Music
Drone Footage Credit: Leon Delwiche of NewFields

Crew and scientists on board the Bold Horizon work together to streamline the ship's mobilzation.

The S-MODE team organizes their scientific instruments before setting sail.

Scientists spend the better part of a week retrofitting the ship for their instruments.

An S-MODE scientist sets up her team's gear in preparation for their month at sea.

Scientists continue mobilizing the ship to take part in the S-MODE mission.

A Bold Horizon crew member works in his cabin.

The ship's crew works in conjuction with the scientists to prepare the ship for S-MODE.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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Producer
- Kathleen Gaeta (Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc.)
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Technical support
- Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
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Writer
- Kathleen Gaeta (Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc.)
Series
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This page was originally published on Monday, November 14, 2022.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 11:43 AM EDT.