ON APRIL 27TH, 2022, shortly after dawn, a ship called the Mayflower left its berth at the Port of Plymouth in England. Conditions were tranquil in Plymouth Sound: no wind, no waves, and an outgoing tide. As it maneuvered past fishing boats, the 50-foot-long and 20-foot-wide Mayflower could be mistaken for a pleasure craft, if not for its curiously futuristic design. Set low to the water like a kayak, the sleek trimaran resembled a starfighter from Star Wars, gliding across the sea's surface, and bore no resemblance to its namesake that had left Plymouth 402 years earlier. The word emblazoned on both sides of the Mayflower's exterior added further intrigue: Unmanned.
When the vessel, officially called the Mayflower Autonomous Ship, reached the 12-mile mark of its morning journey, the pilot boat acting as its maritime escort fell back. A second support boat, the Talisman, carried on for another hour in the Mayflower's wake, until it peeled away.
For approximately the next three weeks, the Mayflower planned to sail across the Atlantic Ocean, covering over 3,000 miles en route to Virginia Beach, Virginia. On its face, this voyage-which the boat was attempting for the second time-was rather unremarkable. A steady stream of traffic constantly traverses the Atlantic; on vessel-tracking websites, the vast body of water resembles a Jackson Pollock painting.
The autonomous Mayflower's proposed voyage, however, was unique. The ship would cross the Atlantic with no humans onboard and no offshore navigational support, an eyebrow-raising plan, even by the inherently audacious standards of the autonomous-vessel industry. Successful transatlantic crossings by uncrewed ships in years past had come with caveats; one vessel was impractically small, while another followed waypoints set by humans.
This story is from the September - October 2023 edition of Popular Mechanics US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the September - October 2023 edition of Popular Mechanics US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Cascading Failures Behind One of the Worst Building Collapses in U.S. History
Engineers are still investigating the collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside Florida, but early findings shed light on a risk facing poorly constructed residential and office buildings,
Cutting the Cord
THE HANDHELD CIRCULAR SAW IS PERHAPS THE MOST VERSAtile power tool for cutting wood.
How Three Amateurs Solved the Zodiac Killer's '340' Cipher
The mysterious code stumped the FBI and NSA for 53 years. What does the key, and the resulting solution, tell us about the infamous murderer?
POPULAR MECHANICS TOP AWARDS 2024
For more than 120 years, Popular Mechanics has been a heavy-duty brand. We see no reason to change that now.
How This Particle Could Break Our Understanding of Reality
EINSTEIN'S SPECIAL THEORY OF relativity teaches us that nothing can accelerate past the speed of light. But what if, when you were born, you were already moving faster than light? What would that look like?
The Right Way to Use a Fire Extinguisher
A FIRE EXTINGUISHER IS MORE THAN A of one 5-gallon bucket becomes the size of 64 burning buckets. Just 180 seconds after it begins, a fire can be transformed from a nuisance to a room-size, life-threatening inferno.
How the World's Largest Spherical Structure Was Built
THE SHINY, NEW LAS VEGAS SPHERE IS more than just a 17,600-seat amphitheaterstyle venue hosting a U2 residency. Since its opening in September 2023, it's become the world's largest spherical structure, at 516 feet wide and 366 feet tall.
The Army's Drone-Killing Laser Weapon
THE U.S. ARMY FIELDED ITS FIRST LASERweapon-equipped unit in October. Based at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, the unit took possession of four laser-equipped Stryker infantry combat vehicles, each mounting a 50-kilowatt-class laser-weapon system. The combination of Stryker and laser can down both artillery, such as mortars and rockets, and drones in-flight.
Why It's So Hard to Mine the World's Largest Lithium Deposit
A Pass, or Peehee Mu'huh to the local Paiute people has been mined since the 1970s, so the new analysis merely confirms what locals have long known about the area.
WHAT THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL X-RAY LASER WILL DO FOR SCIENCE
DEEP UNDER MENLO PARK, California, there is a threemile-long machine operating in a tunnel that scientists are keeping colder than even some of the deepest reaches of space.
