A total of four submarines have plied the depths of Lake Geneva.[25] In 1964, Jacques Piccard launched a tourist-oriented submarine, the Auguste Piccard (named for his explorer father), for the Swiss National Exhibition, meant to honor the Expo 64 theme of accomplishments by Swiss engineers and industry.[26] After operating through to 1965 in Lake Geneva, Piccard used the vessel for scientific exploration in other parts of the world.[26] Piccard later built the F.-A. Forel, launched in Lake Geneva in 1978 and used primarily for scientific research until it was retired in 2005.[26] In 2011, in a collaborative operation led by École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, two Mir submersibles were used for ten weeks to conduct extensive scientific research in Lake Geneva.[25]