In the main lab on the New Horizon is nested the brain center of deck operations. Several monitors hover above a desk spouting various information streams: ship location, speed, ETA, time to station, information on currents, the output from the CTD, the depth of the water based on the several sources, the amount of cable out on the various winches, and a monitor with cc tv on four separate deck cameras. There are other instruments here too, such as specialized computers for controlling the MOCNESS and any other specific equipment brought on for a given group. It is the job of the chief scientist, or the res tech, (or whomever’s experiment it happens to be at the time) to sit in this location to monitor and even control certain aspects of the operation. Importantly, there is an open line to the winch operator and bridge. Throughout a deployment, many commands are called out and affirmed. Questions are asked and answered. Occasionally, late into a shift, the odd joke might be told to keep everyone awake. The command center is thus the hub of all communication- between humans and machines, and humans and other humans- all over the ship.

Jen Jackson playing the wizard of the New Horizon command center