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Boaty McBoatface is setting off on its first mission and the British public couldn't be more proud

Boaty McBoatface is setting off on its first mission and the British public couldn't be more proud
Boaty McBoatface is setting off on its first mission and the British public couldn't be more proud Boaty McBoatface is setting off on its first mission and the British public couldn't be more proud

Boaty McBoatface, a mini submarine named by the Briish public, will soon embark on its first mission to the Antartic.

Last year, the Natural Environment Research Council invited people to vote on a name for its new polar research ship, and the name Boaty McBoatface topped the polls.

(National Oceanography Centre/PA)

Unfortunately, officials rejected the proposal – instead naming the vessel after famous naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough – but they did agree to bless its autonomous underwater vehicle with the name. Though perhaps it should reconsider?

Boaty will head off with the DynOPO (Dynamics of the Orkney Passage Outflow) expedition on the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) research ship James Clark Ross, departing from Punta Arenas in Chile on March 17.The minisub will help researchers investigate the water flow and turbulence in the deepest and darkest depths of the Orkney Passage, a 3.5 kilometre deep region of the Southern Ocean.

Bon voyage, Boaty.