The Nautile crew

The Nautile crew consists of pilots, navigators and technicians who prepare and operate the manned submersible Nautile for dives to the seabed and ensure its proper functioning throughout the mission.

Together with the scientific teams, the Nautile crew equips the submersible according to the objectve of the dives (sampling, in-situ measurements and/or exploration). They connect and integrate the various instruments, sensors and sampling tools for collecting geological (rocks), geochemical (fluids) and biological (fauna) samples.
During the dive, there are three people onboard the Nautile: a pilot, a co-pilot and a scientist. Completely autonomous on the bottom, the Nautile communicates regularly with the surface via an acoustic underwater phone to indicate its position or to inform of a sampling. The Nautile is equipped with cameras that film and take photos throughout the dive from different angles. After each dive, the team recovers this data and transmits it to the scientific team.