Step aboard the pinnacle of ocean exploration: the OceanXplorer. With her own submersibles, wet and dry labs, and hologram technology, every inch is designed to push the limits of marine discovery further than ever before. Watch her and her crew in action in #OceanXplorers, Sundays at 9/8c on National Geographic. Now streaming on Disney and Hulu. | National Geographic TV

During the first leg of the Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas expedition, we conducted three dives focused on looking for active hydrothermal vent sites -- and we even found some! These sites are oases of life on the seafloor, supporting incredibly dense communities of animals – in particular chemosynthetic fauna. Check out more highlights from Leg 1 of the expedition: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1605/logs/may12/welcome.html | NOAA Ocean Exploration