HMS Challenger.



1873 - 76

The 3.5-year voyage to the furthest corners of the globe reshaped marine science and permanently changed our relationship with the planet’s oceans.

HMS Challenger traveled through the North and South Atlantic Oceans as well as a lot of the Pacific Ocean, even venturing below the Antarctic Circle.

The ship traveled around 127,600km on a journey making 362 stops to scoop samples from the seabed with weighted nets, study marine life, gauge ocean depths and measure water temperatures.

The crew found lots of marine life: sea snails from the Azores, squid from the waters around Japan, shark teeth, crabs, sea pigs and snake eels. Before the expedition life beneath the ocean was a mystery.

These artefacts are today held by museums across the UK, Ireland and the US – among them the Natural History Museum in London. The report from the HMS challenger is still used in important research today.

Modern oceanography began with the Challenger Expedition between 1872 and 1876. It was the first expedition organized specifically to gather data on a wide range of ocean features, including ocean temperatures seawater chemistry, currents, marine life, and the geology of the seafloor.

SOME OF THE CREW ON THE HMS CHALLENGER!