While it may seem like the next great frontier is Mars, the depths of Earth’s oceans are just as mysterious to us as outer space. Shell’s $7 million Ocean Discovery XPrize, which incentivizes non-profits, university students and professionals to create robotic ocean explorers, announced on Oct. 13 that 32 teams will take on the challenge.

On Oct. 13, the teams from 22 countries were announced in the first round of the competition. The winners of the first stage will receive a $1 million milestone prize split between up to 25 winning teams.

Now, the challenge is to prepare technical documentation to be submitted in December. The up to 25 teams that qualify for Round 1 testing will need to build a robotic ocean exploration vehicle which can descent to a depth of 2,000 meters, map at least 20 percent of a designated 500 square kilometer area at a 5 meters resolution, and photograph five significant features of the ocean floor (biological, archeological, or geological) within the span of 16 hours.

Up to 10 teams will move onward to Round 2, which will task them with operating their vehicles at a depth of 4,000 meters, mapping 50 percent of the target area, and image ten significant features (at any depth) within 24 hours.

A $4 million Grand Prize will be awarded to the team with the highest score, followed by a $1 million second place prize. Teams are also eligible for a $1 million bonus prize from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for teams that can trace biological or chemical signals.

“The goal of the $1M NOAA bonus prize is to aid NOAA’s marine resource management responsibilities by identifying technologies capable of detecting and tracking sources of marine pollution, locating deep-ocean hydrothermal vents and methane seeps, and monitoring marine life for scientific research and conservation efforts,” said Alan Leonardi, director of NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research.

More information can be found at the Ocean Discover XPrize.