Photos: Profiles of sailors and scientists on the Healy

Scot Tripp is chief scientist aboard the Healy and says the research team is always trying to improve communication devices so they can transmit from the Arctic to outlets all around the world. He says this is especially difficult given how quickly technology advances. On this mission they tested iridium satellite walkie talkies that could enable the Healy to communicate with other responders in the event of an oil spill or a mass rescue. But they also tested an unmanned aircraft that could provide live video feed. “These days people are not too content with voice only. They want to see pictures and videos of what’s going on, and those are the big starlight projects that will move faster.”