The research vessel was designed to house a six-man crew for up to 30 days of oceanographic study in the depths of the Gulf Stream.

NASA became involved, seeing this as an opportunity to study the effects of long-term, continuous close confinement, a useful simulation of long space flights.

The Ben Franklin was built between 1966 and 1968 at the Giovanola fabrication plant in Monthey, Switzerland by Piccard and the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation headed by Donald B Terrana, then disassembled and shipped to Florida.

After running aground on a reef in 1971, the Ben Franklin was sold to Vancouver businessman John Horton, only to languish for nearly three decades on the North Shore.

Ambient artists Mathieu Ruhlmann and Celer collaboratively released an album called Mesoscaphe in 2008 dedicated to the voyage of the Ben Franklin.