Throughout Mission 31, Cousteau's team conducted extended scuba diving expeditions to collect scientific data and IMAX footage.
The mission had two goals — to gather scientific data and to raise funds for Aquarius, an underwater laboratory located at a depth of 63 feet (19 m) below the surface, about 9 miles (14 km) south of Key Largo.
[1] Aquarius is owned by the United States government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and run by Florida International University.
[3] Fabien Cousteau also hoped to break his grandfather's record for longest time spent underwater by a film crew, and draw the public's attention to environmental issues.
[6] Fabien Cousteau got the idea for Mission 31 when visiting Aquarius during a fundraiser aiming to keep the laboratory operating in the wake of federal budget cuts.
The other three crew members — Kip Evans, Andy Shantz, and Adam Zenone — were replaced according to plan midway through the mission by Matt Ferraro, Liz Magee, and Grace C.
[1] Periodically, they were joined by "VIP guests" for a day, including Cousteau's father, Jean-Michel and sister Céline, actor Ian Somerhalder, and marine biologist Sylvia Earle.
[10][7] Rapper will.i.am and businessman-explorer Richard Branson were tentatively scheduled to visit had the expedition taking place in October 2013 as originally planned.
[3] Days were spent diving to conduct experiments and gather data to study the effects of climate change and pollution on coral reefs, while the evenings were spent in Aquarius on lab work, relaxation and stress tests: Cousteau and his crew made themselves available for physiological and psychological tests to determine the effects of long-term living under the sea and without sunlight.
[3] They used a sonar device that records a wide range of frequencies and a slow-motion camera to capture more thorough data and installed tiny probes, less than the width of a human hair, into the coral reef.
[9] Among the animals seen during the expedition were eels, mantis shrimp, octopus, plankton, porkfish, snook, sponges, spotted eagle rays, starfish, tarpon, and various reef sharks.
Florida International dean Michael Heithaus remarked "Fabian has helped us reach out to millions of people that we wouldn't have been able to otherwise" and added "This is launching the age of Aquarius at FIU".