This document summarizes several historical expeditions that contributed to the development of ocean science and marine studies. It discusses early expeditions by Vikings and the Chinese admiral Zheng He in the 15th century. It then outlines the voyages of Captain Cook in the 18th century who made accurate maps of many ocean regions. The document also mentions the United States Exploring Expedition led by Wilkes that explored and charted parts of Antarctica. Charles Darwin's voyage on the HMS Beagle helped establish his theory of evolution by natural selection. The Challenger Expedition in 1872 was the first devoted entirely to marine science and discovered over 4,700 new species. Later, the German Meteor Expeditions introduced echo sounders to study ocean depths