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“The beauty of this is that all the data that we create we’ll give away, so it’s all free, always,” says Phaneuf. Equipped with three research pods that contain sensors and scientific instrumentation, it will spend vast periods of time at sea collecting data to advance understanding in maritime such as cybersecurity, sea level mapping and marine life. While the original Mayflower explored new land, MAS is focused on the other 71 percent of the Earth’s surface: the ocean, of which only five percent has been explored. It boasts an aluminum composite structure that relies on solar panels, a state-of-the-art inertial navigation and precise GNSS positioning system and advanced “AI Captain.” In lieu of a crew, it has a virtual command center, and while there will be no passengers, millions of “virtual pilgrims” will be able to experience the journey online. They’ve been refining the ship’s design, testing its components and making structural improvements to the ship in preparation for its voyage.Īs a result, this new Mayflower has traded in the traditional wooden hull, sails, nautical star charts and captain for cutting-edge upgrades. Indeed, that extra time has been well spent, allowing the project team to gain more partners and sponsors who recognize the MAS’s potential. “The upside of the delay is we have more and more science payloads being integrated, so we’ll have a better, more reliable platform to do more sophisticated science.” “We’ll pick our weather window, point west and go for it,” Phaneuf says. While the initial launch goal of September 2020 has been delayed due to COVID-19, the team has been busy conducting comprehensive sea trials and are preparing for a big event on Septemto commemorate the voyage, with plans to launch MAS in the Spring of next year. They envisioned the ship as a research and development vessel that could be used beyond the transatlantic voyage for years to come, and began forging partnerships with academic institutions like the University of Plymouth and University of Birmingham, to name a few. Inspired by the potential of the project, Phaneuf committed his engineering expertise to the ambitious effort and joined forces with Fredrick Soreide, a fellow director on the board of marine research organization ProMare, which is leading the effort. They were immediately on board with the idea. When city government officials of Plymouth, England were preparing for the “Mayflower 400” celebration and proposed building a replica of the original vessel as part of the city’s festivities to honor the ship’s past, Phaneuf asked them to consider a different approach: to build a new version that would honor the future as well.