Bottles resting on the seabed mark the outline of a disintegrated wooden crate that held them, their glass surfaces still intact despite more than a century underwater. The image was taken during the RMS Titanic Expedition, conducted from May 27 to June 12, 2004, which brought together a team of scientists led by marine explorer Dr Robert Ballard to study the ongoing deterioration of the famed shipwreck. Nearly two decades after Ballard first discovered the Titanic’s resting place, he returned with researchers from NOAA and other institutions to document the wreck using advanced technology. Aboard the NOAA Research Vessel Ronald H. Brown, the team spent 11 days at the site, using remotely operated vehicles to capture high-definition video and stereoscopic images for a detailed, non-intrusive survey. In addition to mapping the wreck, the expedition also focused on studying rusticles—icicle-like formations created by microbes that consume iron and contribute to the Titanic’s gradual decay. Although these formations have long been observed on the wreck, much about the microbes responsible for them remains unknown.