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Deepsea Challenger

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Deepsea Challenger (DVC 1) is a 24-foot (7.3 m) deep-diving submersible, designed to reach the bottom of Challenger Deep, the deepest point on earth. On 26 March 2012, James Cameron piloted the craft to accomplish this goal, becoming the first person in history to do so solo.[1][2][3][4] Built by Australian engineers, the Deepsea Challenger includes scientific sampling equipment and high-definition 3-D cameras, and reached the ocean's deepest point after roughly two hours of descent from the surface.[5]

It was built in Leichardt, Inner-City Sydney, NSW, Australia by a private company - Acheron Projects Pty Ltd.[6]

Development

The Challenger was secretly built in Australia, in partnership with National Geographic and with support from Rolex. Participating in the research and development of the craft and mission include Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of Hawaii. [7]

Specifications

The vehicle features a pilot sphere measuring 43 inches (1.1 metres) , large enough for only one occupant.[8] The sphere, with steel walls 2.5 inches (6.4 centimetres) thick, was tested for its ability to withstand the required 16,500 psi (114,000 kPa) of pressure in a pressure chamber at Pennsylvania State University.[9] The sphere sits at the base of the 11.8 t (11.6 long tons; 13.0 short tons), 24 ft (7.3 m) tall vehicle; the vehicle operates in a vertical attitude, and carries 1,100 lb (500 kg) of ballast weight that allow it to both sink to the bottom, and when released, rise to the surface. If the ballast weight release system fails, stranding the craft on the seafloor, a back up galvanic release is desigined to corrode in salt water in a set period of time, allowing the sub to automatically surface. [10] The Deepsea Challenger is less than one-tenth the weight of its predecessor by fifty years, the Bathyscaphe Trieste; the modern vehicle also carries dramatically more scientific equipment than the Trieste, and is capable of more rapid ascent and descent.[11]

Deepsea Challenge

The dive program, Deepsea Challenge

Early dives

In late January, 2012, to test systems, James Cameron spent three hours in the sub while submerged just below the water in Australia's Sydney Naval Yard.[12] On February 21, a test dive intended to reach a depth of over 3,000 feet was aborted after only an hour because of problems with cameras and life support systems.[13] On February 23, just off New Britain Island, Cameron successfully took the sub 3,000 feet (910 m) down to the ocean floor, where it made a rendezvous with a yellow ROV operated from a ship above.[14] On February 28, during a seven-hour dive, Cameron spent six hours in the sub at a depth of 12,000 feet (3,700 m); power system fluctuations and unexpected currents presented unexpected challenges.[15][16] On March 4th, a record-setting dive to more than 23,818 feet (7,260 m) stopped short of the bottom of the New Britain Trench when problems with the vertical thrusters led Cameron to return to the surface.[17] Just days later, with the technical problem solved, Cameron successfully took the sub to the bottom of the New Britain Trench, reaching a maximum depth of 26,791 feet (8,166 m).[18] There, he found a wide plain of loose sediment, anemones, jellyfish, and varying habitats where the plain met the walls of the canyon.[18]

Challenger Deep

On March 18, 2012, after leaving the testing area in the relatively calm Solomon Sea, the sub was aboard the surface vessel Mermaid Sapphire, docked in Apra Harbor, Guam, undergoing repairs and upgrades, and waiting for a calm enough ocean to carry out the dive.[19][20] By March 24, 2012, having left port in Guam days earlier, the sub was aboard one of two surface vessels that had departed the Ulithi atoll for the Challenger Deep.[21][22] On 25 March 2012, it was reported that he had reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

The first Tweet from the deepest point on earth.

Just arrived at the ocean's deepest pt. Hitting bottom never felt so good. Can't wait to share what I'm seeing w/ you @DeepChallenge

— James Cameron, The Telegraph

[23]

As of February, 2012, several other vehicles are under development to reach the same depths. The groups developing them include: Triton Submarines, a Florida based company that designs and manufactures private submarines, whose vehicle will carry a crew of three to the seabed in 120 minutes;[24] Virgin Oceanic, sponsored by Richard Branson's Virgin Group, is developing a sub designed by Graham Hawkes, with which the solo pilot will take 140 minutes to reach the seabed;[25] and DOER Marine, a San Francisco based marine technology company established in 1992, which is developing a vehicle with some support from Google's Eric Schmidt with which a crew of two or three will take 90 minutes to reach the seabed.[26]

Records

On March 7, 2012 Cameron made a record breaking dive in the Challenger to a depth of five miles in the New Britain Trench off Papua New Guinea beating the record held by modern Japanese vehicles by a mile, total depth 26,791 feet (8,166 metres).[2]

On that same day, Cameron sent an email to Don Walsh the co-pilot of the Trieste, stating "The 8000m dive went very well..... You’d have loved it."[18]

On 26 March 2012, Cameron reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean, and of the Earth, in The Deepsea Challenger submersible[1][2][3], built entirely in Australia[6]

Further reading

See also

References

  1. ^ a b AP Staff (March 25, 2012). "James Cameron has reached deepest spot on Earth". MSNBC. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c Broad, William J. (March 25, 2012). "Filmmaker in Submarine Voyages to Bottom of Sea". New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Than, Ker (March 25, 2012). "James Cameron Completes Record-Breaking Mariana Trench Dive". National Geographic Society. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  4. ^ Nathan Ingraham (March 9, 2012). "James Cameron and his Deepsea Challenger submarine". www.theverge.com. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  5. ^ "BBC News - Race to the bottom of the ocean: Cameron". bbc.co.uk. February 22, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  6. ^ a b Timothy McDonald (March 22, 2012). "Australian built submarine to take Hollywood director to deepest place in the ocean". abc.net.au. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  7. ^ "Deepsea Challenge". National Geographic Society. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  8. ^ "Sub Facts". Deepsea Challenge (National Geographic). Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  9. ^ "Pilot Sphere". Deepsea Challenge (National Geographic). Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  10. ^ "Systems & Technology". Deepsea Challenge (National Geographic). Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  11. ^ "Then and now". Deepsea Challenge (National Geographic). Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  12. ^ "Jim Takes First Piloted Dive". Deepsea Challenge (National Geographic). January 31, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  13. ^ "Camera Hell". Deepsea Challenge (National Geographic). February 22, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  14. ^ "We've Got a Deep-Diving Sub". Deepsea Challenge (National Geographic). February 23, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  15. ^ "Postdive Truths Revealed". Deepsea Challenge (National Geographic). February 29, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  16. ^ "A Critical Step". Deepsea Challenge (National Geographic). February 28, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  17. ^ "Courageous Caution". Deepsea Challenge (National Geographic). March 4, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  18. ^ a b c James Cameron (March 8, 2012). "You'd have loved it". National Geographic Society. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  19. ^ "Ocean Swells". Deepsea Challenge (National Geographic). March 10, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  20. ^ "A Hive of Work". Deepsea Challenge (National Geographic). March 18, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  21. ^ "Mariana Trench Mission This Weekend?". Deepsea Challenge (National Geographic). March 24, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  22. ^ "Cameron heads to ocean floor". Ottawa Citizen. March 21, 2012. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  23. ^ "James Cameron becomes first solo diver to visit Earth's deepest point". telegraph.co.uk. 25 March, 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ "Triton Submarines". Tritonsubs.com. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  25. ^ "Virgin Oceanic". Virgin Oceanic. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  26. ^ "DOER Marine". DOER Marine. December 20, 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2012.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Deepsea_Challenger&oldid=483981260"