A small-boat crew from the Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast prepares to launch the mini-boat Pacific Lotus off the coast of Baja, Mexico, March 2, 2018, as part of an international science project involving students from various schools in Oregon and Japan.
The mini-boat Pacific Lotus is one of 6 mini-boats launched off at various points along the western shore of North America that have solar-paneled GPS trackers built into them to help students track the journey in hopes of the boats making it across the Pacific Ocean to Japan.
U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast.