On deck of the Akademik Mistislav Keldysh, Bill Paxton (center) observes the ROV 'bots' nicknamed Jake (right; blue) and Elwood (left, green).

Don Lynch (background), Bill Paxton, Dr. Charles Pellegrino, Lori Johnston.

MIR 2 pilot Genya Chernaiev (left) and Bill Paxton (center) look through a porthole in the submersible to the wreckage on the deck of Titanic.

MIR crew members help James Cameron (center) into MIR 1.

Mike Cameron (left), Ken Marschall (center left), Don Lynch (center background), James Cameron (center right).

Bill Paxton (center) reviews schematics in a pre-launch discussion led by James Cameron (second from right).

James Cameron, Lewis Abernathy, and Ken Marschall in Ghosts of the Abyss (2003)

James Cameron and Bill Paxton in Ghosts of the Abyss (2003)

The Titanic's dining room as it originally looked and how it looks now.

ROV creator Mike Cameron (pictured) inspecting one of the bots (nicknamed Jake) being loaded into the MIR submersible.

Using a scale model of the wreck of Titanic, James Cameron (center) plans the exploration sequence with his team, including MIR 2 pilot Genya Chernaiev (second from right, holding MIR scale model).

Walt Disney in Ghosts of the Abyss (2003)