bob ballard is leading a revolution in undersea exploration to change that. an idea he had 28 years ago. >> ballard: this is our underwater world, and you're looking... that's a live image coming in from america's first ship of exploration, the "okeanos explorer." >> logan: today, his idea is just coming to life here at the university of rhode island. ballard, working with noaa, the federal ocean agency, created what he calls the "inner space center"-- the first-ever command and control center for ocean exploration-- that will stay constantly connected to three research ships at sea. >> ballard: our budget to explore our planet is only one- thousandth the budget of nasa. we're $18.7 million; they're $18.7 billion. >> logan: we had a chance to speak directly to one of the research ships, the "okeanos explorer." >> ballard: okeanos, inner space center. over. >> logan: the ship was in a remote part of the pacific, mapping american territory there for the very first time. can you tell us where you are right now? >> we are currently 1,000 miles northwest of the haw