In February, Marko Radeta and João Pestana from MARE-Madeira (ARDITI) traveled to Norway to test our low-cost release system (MARS) to new depths. Building on the hydrostatic chamber tests carried out at GEOMAR in February 2025, the exchange evaluated the timed release mechanism during two ROV-supported deployments in the Trondheim Fjord. The resulting footage, telemetry and post-deployment inspections documented ignition performance at depths approaching 500 m and identified practical improvements to battery screening and release design. These results were included in a manuscript that is now awaiting peer review.

The data collected from these experiments, including field methods, dive profiles, ignition footage and inspection of results are summarized in a new article, ‘MARS Igniter: Deep-Sea Evaluation and Pressure Rating of Affordable Programmable and Reusable Multi-Purpose Auto-Release System.,’ currently under review. Together with the GEOMAR hyperbaric chamber experiments, the results show that the MARS igniters can withstand pressures up to 5,000 dbar and operate down to almost 500 m in the field. The Norway tests also reveal some limitations of the release opening and battery that will be addressed in future work.