The source of their elation swims across Hayden’s laptop screen – thick salp chains glide through the blackness while squid zoom in and out of the frame. Marine snow, tiny krill, and phytoplankton pepper the scene. The swirl of bright, twinkling organisms looks like something out of a science fiction movie – it feels like we’re viewing the far reaches of outer space.

But this is inner space, specifically the Ocean Twilight Zone. We are watching footage that Mesobot just captured, 150 meters below us.

Hayden’s gaze is locked on the screen. “It’s like we’re sitting inside a fish tank,” he says. “Look at that ink trail from the squid!”

We watch, transfixed, as the animals continue to dart around Mesobot. We marvel at the crisp quality of the footage and the sheer number of organisms. Yoerger points out that the small fish we’re seeing are likely some of the most numerous vertebrates on the planet – but humans very rarely get the opportunity to observe them.