By David Zhang
The vast ocean has always been full of danger and unpredictableness since its creation. Yet many brave people have dared to sail across it. But the depths of the ocean are still to be fully explored. The 5 deeps expedition aims to explore the deepest part of each of the five oceans using a manned vehicle. Previously, deep sea exploration used unmanned vehicles due to safety concerns and inadequate technology to achieve such depths while maintaining a stable environment for humans.
There has been a special submersible vehicle created by Triton Submarines LLC that is able to withstand the high pressures of the deep sea. It is the only submersible that is certified to carry humans to a depth of 11km(7 miles), theoretically being able to reach Challenger deep, the deepest part of the ocean located in the Mariana trench.
Victor Vescovo is the explorer who has been chosen to pilot the submersible on the five deeps mission. He has trekked to both poles and climbed the Earth’s seven highest mountains, making him a suitable choice to pilot the vehicle to the depths of the sea. The journey will be recorded and made into a show by Discovery and Science Channels. This will be the first time humans have been able to firsthand travel to such depths and another breakthrough in technology for seafloor exploration