Jason (ROV)

Career
General characteristics
Tonnage:	2000kg
Length:	2.2 m (7 ft 3 in)
Height:	1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)
Propulsion:	Seven brushless DC thrusters providing the following thrust: fore 260N (120 lbf) aft lateral 200N (45 lbf) vertical 300N (135 lbf)
Speed:	1.0 knot forward, 0.5 knot lateral, 1.0 knot vertical
Range:	6000 meters
Sensors and processing systems:	Attitude Two-axis clinometer, 0.1 degree resolution Heading Flux-gate compass, 0.1 degree resolution Gimballed gyro, 0.1 degree resolution Pressure Depth Bulk semiconductor strain gauge, 1m resolution Altitude 120kHz updating at 2Hz, 33 meters range, 0.1 m resolution
Notes:	Video Two surface-selectable channels from the following: One single-CCD-chip color One three-CCD-chip color One single-CCD-chip black and white, aft looking Still Camera 35mm, 400 frames with either 16mm or 28mm lens Electronic Camera Marquest Model 9100 camera Lighting One 200 watt-second strobe One 300 or 600 watt-second strobe Three 250 watt incandescent lamps Two 400 watt HMI lights SImagenex 855 scanning sonar with forward imaging or profiling head One 6 degree of freedom electric powered manipulator, maximum lift of 15 kg at .5 meters Payload: 50 kg Umbilical: 35 meters, 18 mm diameter, neutrally buoyant Navigation Long base line responder or relay transmitter/receiver 7-12kHz vehicle powered or battery operated for emergency location

Jason is a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) system designed for scientific investigation of the deep ocean and seafloor. ROVs are unoccupied, highly maneuverable and operated by a person aboard a surface vessel. They are linked to the ship by a tether, a group of cables that carry electrical signals back and forth between the operator and the vehicle.

Built and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 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 (tilt), and altitude from the seafloor. Jason's 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.

A prototype of Jason called Jason Jr. was used with Alvin to explore the Titanic in 1986.^[1]

References

1. ^ Ballard, Robert (2008). Archaeological Oceanography. Princeton: Princeton University Press. pp. 102, 104. ISBN 9780691129402. 

External links

• http://www.whoi.edu/marops/vehicles/jason/index.html
• Jason's history