100 Days Under the Sea
Dr. Joe Dituri visits with a local manatee before making his descent!
March 1st, 2023, marks the start of Project NEPTUNE 100! This unique mission, sponsored by MarineLab’s parent organization Marine Resources Development Foundation and the International Board of Undersea Medicine, will see Dr. Joe Dituri, hyperbaric medicine specialist, spend 100 days underwater inside Jules’ Undersea Lodge. All MarineLab students snorkeling in our lagoon can see the lodge from the surface, and free-diving students can actually peer into the windows to see inside.
Hopefully our free-diving students are as friendly as this visitor to the hotel window!
Project NEPTUNE will be 100 days focused on research and education. Joe will be conducting his own research on how the body responds to living underwater and also assisting others with research on eustachian tubes and first-aid protocols for hostile environments. While Joe occupies one bedroom in the habitat for the duration of the 100 day mission, the other bedroom will be used to host other scientists who have their own hypotheses to test, speakers that are taking part in our marine conservation live stream program, middle and high school age divers participating in our Young Explorers program, and certified divers participating in our Citizen Science program.
Project NEPTUNE includes student participation, as well.
Classrooms from across the country will connect to the scientists during this time to ask questions about the specific scientific study being presented. On site MarineLab students can wave to Dr Joe during their lagoon snorkels and will be given time to call down to the habitat to ask their burning questions about living underwater (how does he use the restroom??).
Jules’ Undersea Lodge has been transformed into a “Digital Studio in the Sea” for the mission and we are excited to share a message of marine exploration and conservation through our live stream series and other content created throughout the mission. The list of speakers that will be joining us during the mission is impressive and growing! You can check out the schedule here.
On a personal note, I am proud to serve as the Mission Director for Project Neptune 100 and to continue the legacy of the habitat La Chalupa. My dad helped build the habitat that is now known as Jules’ Undersea Lodge and was the original diving director for the missions in Puerto Rico beginning in 1972. It is exciting to see the habitat continue to contribute to the body of scientific knowledge and to inspire undersea exploration and marine conservation over 50 years after the first mission.
Jules’ lives through generations! Pictured here is Thane Milhoan, Project NEPTUNE 100 Mission Director.
While living in Jules’ for 100 days will set a new record for time spent underwater in a fixed habitat, those involved agree that the record is not the measure for the success of the mission. Success will be measured in the results of the scientific research, the young people inspired to pursue careers in marine science, and a desire by those who follow the mission to become active in marine conservation.
If you want to follow Project Neptune 100 on social media you can subscribe to the Jules’ Undersea TV YouTube channel, follow @jules_undersea_lodge, @drdeepsea, and @uwhabitat_man on instagram and Facebook. If you are interested in connecting with Joe or a different scientist during the mission, please send an email to projectneptune@mrdf.org.