The Aurora Australis is one of the three Antarctic marine science research vessels, along with France's L'Astrolabe and Japan's Umitaka Maru. Australia's ship mainly ventured into the ocean floor and found interesting creatures.

With their voyage, Dr. Martin Riddle said that they were able to uncover a "remarkably rich, colorful and complex range of marine life."

There were able to discover more about the different life forms lurking in the dark within the deep waters. Some of these were huge worms, giant crustaceans and sea spiders about the size of dinner plates.

The most interesting creatures they were able to encounter were the Tunicates. They're the ones shown in the photo above. They're glass-like animals and were the first settlers of the sea floor.

Regarding the things they were able to discover in the deep, Riddle said that:

This research will help scientists understand how communities have adapted to the unique Antarctic environment. This survey establishes a point of reference to monitor the impact of environmental change in Antarctic waters.

It's amazing to be able to navigate undersea mountains and valleys and actually see what the animals look like in their undisturbed state.