NOAA Partners with Proteus on ‘Underwater Space Station’
NOAA and Proteus Ocean Group have signed an agreement to use the “underwater space station of the ocean,” PROTEUS, to advance marine science, research and education. Together, NOAA and Proteus Ocean Group seek to develop a deeper understanding of the ocean environment and reveal solutions to some of the planet’s most pressing concerns, including those related to climate change.
PROTEUS will be located off the Caribbean island of Curacao. It will serve as an underwater habitat where scientists, innovators, private citizens, the public sector and global customers can live underwater to study the ocean environment for extended periods of time. In addition to state-of-the-art scientific laboratories, living quarters and an underwater garden for food production, PROTEUS will include a full-scale video production facility to provide livestreaming for research and educational programming.
Under the new cooperative research and development agreement, NOAA and Proteus Ocean Group will work together to identify opportunities for research using the unique capabilities of PROTEUS. NOAA will provide access to scientific experts, vessels and other technology, expedition plans, and mission results relevant to PROTEUS activities, as well as access to shore-side facilities and programs throughout the agency’s mission portfolios of the ocean, weather, climate and coastal science. Proteus Ocean Group will share data and insights related to the development phase of the underwater habitat.