I discovered hydrothermal vents, but I’m only known for finding the Titanic

Robert Ballard speaking at a conference in California. ‘It’s too bad you found that rusty old boat,’ his mother told him after the discovery of the Titanic. ‘You discovered hydrothermal vents, but they’re only going to remember you for finding that.’ Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

The mid-ocean ridge is where the Earth creates its outer skin. It’s called the boundary of creation. We knew there was life on the bottom of the ocean but not entire ecosystems supporting large animals until our expedition went down there in 1977.

First, we sent down an unmanned vehicle called Angus, which was essentially a camera system and strobe lights within a two-tonne steel cage. It was going down in the eternal darkness, slaloming back and forth like a skier down a mountain.