"A quick message to let you know how things are progressing out here on the Seaward Johnson off Cape Canaveral, Florida.

(The microlander attached to the submersible on its way to the seabed 750 m below)

I've completed two sub dives and now deployed the 'microlander' successfully for the first time. The staff at Harbor Branch completed the lander modifications to integrate the frame with the submersible. We then pressure tested every housing. 

The last week was busy, the kit was stuck in Customs so we lost a day of prep time. But they still turned it round and within a week we've modified the frame, gone to sea and completed the deployment. Quite impressive and I'm very grateful to Harbor Branch and the sub crew for their help.

In terms of results, all sensors worked well - actually the new infra-red lamps were even more powerful than we'd anticipated, flooding the scene with illumination invisible to the benthic creatures living there.

We got the kit to within 0.5 m of live coral, having dived 750 m through the Gulf Stream - they launch you typically 1 nautical mile upstream and you cruise with the current to the project dive site. They are so familiar with this that they found the lander again within just 20 minutes of reaching the seabed.

When you think that the lander is only a few feet across, this is quite something."