Do expeditions to the Titanic wreck have a future?

Michael H. Standart said:
Virtual reality can only do so much. It'll speak to what's visible but not to what's hidden from view. Any such investigation will of necessity be intrusive and could possibly cause some more damage. Given the accelerating decay of the wreck, if any such examination is going to be done, it'll have to be done sooner rather than later.
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Thanks for that.

Do, you know when the last official expedition to the Titanic took place? Any plans been announced to when they'll be visiting the wreck next?
 
Not offhand. It's been in the news which was posted in one of my Facebook feeds. RMSTI has been off of my radar screen for years. Seems they've been off of everybody else's too.

I think the last time James Cameron was down there was something like ten years ago. Too bad since he's done more real science then a lot of people are inclined to give him credit for.
 
Michael H. Standart said:
Not offhand. It's been in the news which was posted in one of my Facebook feeds. RMSTI has been off of my radar screen for years. Seems they've been off of everybody else's too.

I think the last time James Cameron was down there was something like ten years ago. Too bad since he's done more real science then a lot of people are inclined to give him credit for.
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If you can share that feed here, I'll be grateful.
 
My second cousin was a third class passenger who did not survive. I have went to one of the Titanic artifact exhibitions and completely enjoyed viewing the artifacts displayed, finding no macabre feeling I was viewing something akin to a gravesite; just the opposite. It allowed me a glimpse to a special moment in time where I could connect with those on board. I hope as many artifacts as possible are saved and more in person viewing options become available.
 
The only thing I would like to see is future expeditions to the wreck happen for the sole purpose of exploring deeper into the Titanic as the wrecks deterioration allows. As the upper more exposed decks rot away it will open up more possibilities to get to the more preserved areas of the ship deeper inside that are not as badly deteriorated due to their sheltered positions.

I also hope that one day the high resolution images and mapping that they did of the Titanic in 2010 will be released as a VR game experience available for thoses to explore the ship in 1:1 scale in their own home. There is already a game out there that lets you experience the Apollo 11 mission in VR and even used authentic sounds taken from the real Nasa training capsule for ambience.

We also have Titanic H&G game being made that is VR capable to allow us to explore the ship in her pre sinking and sinking condition. All we need now is a 1:1 scale wreck exploration game now with VR support.
 
Insofar as the wreck site goes, I tend to fall on the side that feels there is little reason to recover anymore items from the debris field or wreck. However, there is a lot that the wreck site could still teach us.

Until some years ago, the assumption was that the seafloor around the wreckages was static and barely if ever changed. Now we know better, in large part because of the comprehensive mapping done back a few years ago. It seems poetic that the Titanic may well disappear from sight before she completely flattens due to moving dunes of material that are slowly approaching from the NW. There seems to be smaller dunes already moving around the debris field that bury and uncover different items. It goes a long ways towards explaining why smaller items initially spotted in 1985 seem to have disappeared (like the spelter Artemis of Versailles statue photographed by Ballard and never seen again since).

There is the biological aspect to consider as well. Until the discovery of the Titanic, we only had vague notions of what might be happening on the seabed of the N. Atlantic. Now we have come to realize that even at that depth, there is a variety of flora and fauna of which we didn't know as much about as we thought (new forms of bacterial life that is reducing the iron of the Titanic to dust for example).

In that regard, the wreck site of the Titanic is still worthy of visiting periodically from time to time.
 
Rusty_S said:
The only thing I would like to see is future expeditions to the wreck happen for the sole purpose of exploring deeper into the Titanic as the wrecks deterioration allows. As the upper more exposed decks rot away it will open up more possibilities to get to the more preserved areas of the ship deeper inside that are not as badly deteriorated due to their sheltered positions.

I also hope that one day the high resolution images and mapping that they did of the Titanic in 2010 will be released as a VR game experience available for thoses to explore the ship in 1:1 scale in their own home. There is already a game out there that lets you experience the Apollo 11 mission in VR and even used authentic sounds taken from the real Nasa training capsule for ambience.

We also have Titanic H&G game being made that is VR capable to allow us to explore the ship in her pre sinking and sinking condition. All we need now is a 1:1 scale wreck exploration game now with VR support.
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They could even include an option to explore the wreck just as Ballard found it in 1986. Like a simulator that includes everything thta should be taken into account when diving in a mini sub or controlling a rover!
 
Augusto Félix Solari said:
They could even include an option to explore the wreck just as Ballard found it in 1986. Like a simulator that includes everything thta should be taken into account when diving in a mini sub or controlling a rover!
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There actually was a game given it wasn't very detailed but there was a game where you had to find the Isis, Bismarck and the Titanic and had to photograph and explore said ships. The Titanic was in its 1986 state as the crowsnest was still affixed to the foremast.

Was a good game and I spent hours just on the Titanic one. But at last aside from the outside there was no detail inside the ship. I still think a VR kind of experience allowing us to basically walk the decks of the wreck first hand in full scale would be nice. Could be even a nice part two to the Honor and Glory game which does have Oculus support.

But I highly doubt anything will be done on that notion I am sure we will have the random expedition that is hush hush to the wreck and probably never get any new pictures or information till months if not years after the fact.
 
Would be interesting if tourists could explore the wreck and do their own detective work. Wonder if drones could be adapted to explore the deep sea from the surface without the need for wires and submersibles. Even without them, the footage that hopefully the tourists capture from the windows of the submersibles might proof to be very useful for future research e.g. counting how many portholes are open, a closer look at the propellers etc. Hopefully they will send down a brush or some kind of air pressure device that could sweep away the sand that is covering the starboard bow, just to see how much damage there is.


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