This month sees the start of a groundbreaking two-month-long exploration of deep waters off the coast of Hawaii.

The Okeanos Explorer, a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will be diving down into depths of 400–5,000 meters (1,300–16,250 feet), documenting subaquatic wonders never before seen.

^{Project exploration map, created from existing multibeam mapping data by Dr. John R. Smith of the University of Hawaii. NOAA.}

Along the way, the underwater vehicle will be visiting the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, and the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

If you’ve not got your ticket to dive, you can follow along with these livestreams from NOAA until August 22.

After this leg of the expedition, there will be two more journeys for the Okeanos Explorer. The vehicle will be diving into the waters off the main Hawaiian Islands and Geologists Seamounts from August 28 until September 3 before returning to the Johnston Atoll from September 7 until September 30.

[H/T: NOAA]