What secret mission was Ballard also carrying out?

Surveying lost US Navy submarines

Titanic Wreck Discovery Quiz: Robert Ballard and 1985

This titanic wreck discovery quiz searches the deep North Atlantic. Play 10 interactive questions on the 1985 joint French and American expedition, Jean-Louis Michel and Robert Ballard, the towed camera sled Argo, the first image of a boiler, the ship broken in two, a depth of about 3,800 meters, Ballard's secret Navy mission and later dives in the submersible Alvin.

Start Titanic Wreck Discovery Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Year
When was the Titanic wreck found?
Ballard
Which American oceanographer co-led the discovery?
France
Which French scientist co-led the expedition?
Argo
Which towed camera system found the wreck?
Boiler
What object was among the first spotted?
Two
In what condition is the wreck?
Deep
About how deep is the wreck?
Navy
What secret mission was Ballard also carrying out?
Alvin
Which crewed submersible took Ballard to the wreck in 1986?
Rust
What are the icicle-like rust formations called?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: When was the Titanic wreck found?
Answer: 1985
On 1 September.
Q2: Which American oceanographer co-led the discovery?
Answer: Robert Ballard
From Woods Hole.
Q3: Which French scientist co-led the expedition?
Answer: Jean-Louis Michel
From IFREMER.
Q4: Which towed camera system found the wreck?
Answer: Argo
It sent video to the ship.
Q5: What object was among the first spotted?
Answer: A boiler
Leading to the wreck.
Q6: In what condition is the wreck?
Answer: Broken in two pieces
Bow and stern apart.
Q7: About how deep is the wreck?
Answer: About 3,800 meters
Very deep.
Q8: What secret mission was Ballard also carrying out?
Answer: Surveying lost US Navy submarines
The search used leftover time.
Q9: Which crewed submersible took Ballard to the wreck in 1986?
Answer: Alvin
A famous research sub.
Q10: What are the icicle-like rust formations called?
Answer: Rusticles
Made by microbes.

Finding the Titanic in the Deep

The Titanic sank in 1912, and for decades its exact resting place was unknown. In 1985 a joint French and American expedition co-led by Jean-Louis Michel of IFREMER and Robert Ballard of Woods Hole searched the deep North Atlantic.

The towed camera system Argo sent video to the ship, and on 1 September 1985 a boiler appeared on screen, leading to the wreck. The Titanic lies about 3,800 meters down, broken in two pieces, with bow and stern apart. Ballard was also carrying out a secret US Navy mission to survey lost submarines.

In 1986 Ballard returned in the crewed submersible Alvin to explore the wreck. Microbes form icicle-like rust formations called rusticles, which are slowly consuming the ship.

What This Quiz Teaches

History fans will enjoy these questions.

When the wreck was found
Who found it
Which tools helped
What condition it is in
What threatens it

Did You Know?

Ballard called for the site to be respected.
Thousands of artifacts were later recovered.
The wreck lies southeast of Newfoundland.
Protection treaties now cover it.
Scans have mapped the whole site.