We must go and see for ourselves.
-Jacques Cousteau, the motto of the ship Calypso, 1951
Ocean exploration fundamentally changed in 1943 with Jacques Cousteau's creation of the aqualung. Cousteau's imagination, combined with his fascination for the ocean, fueled his technological vision, allowing unprecedented encounters with the undersea world. Sharing these experiences with the public through film, Cousteau caused his audience to exchange their perception of the ocean from mysterious and dangerous to vulnerable and valuable. He left an enduring legacy of ocean exploration and conservation.