Just like a space rover, this instrument is designed to help us study places that are inhospitable to people.  But rather than the furthest reaches of space,  this corer travels to the depths of the sea to where it collects cores of the mud and sand on the ocean floor.  Geological oceanographers like MLML professor Ivan Aiello (left) can use the samples to learn how different geologic features  in an area formed throughout history – in this case, the study site is Monterey Bay.