The Eye: From this post, scientists could track migrating birds and sea life and conduct long-term meteorological studies.

Topside Operations: Pilots would control SeaOrbiter's remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) from above the waterline. The outdoor operations area would also serve as a staging area for dives from the surface. And a decompression chamber would ease the transition for SeaOrbiter members living at saturation. Solar panels and wind turbines would provide energy to help power the ship.

Wet Lab: Each year, marine biologists discover about 2,000 new marine species, a number SeaOrbiter aims to increase. A wet lab filled with tanks would allow researchers to perform experiments and transport certain live specimens to more-sophisticated land-based research facilities.

**Four-Car Garage: **The underwater hangar would house a two-person submersible, two ROVs, and an autonomous drone that can dive to 6,000 meters. The hope is to use these vehicles to search the ocean depths for not only new life but also plankton, bacteria, and viruses that could help treat disease.

Data Hub: Communications Center Nemo, named after the anti-hero of Jules Verne's sci-fi masterpiece 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, would serve as a broadcast studio for SeaOrbiter to share its discoveries with the world. The studio would also house a pipe organ, the favored musical instrument of Verne's mad captain, who swore off life on land to pursue the mysteries of the abyss. (One crazy French science-fiction writer's dream is apparently another French explorer's reality.)