Chinese oceanauts break another deep-dive record
Source: Xinhua |
June 25, 2012, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINESE oceanauts again broke the country's dive record in a manned submersible by going deeper than 7,000 meters beneath the sea yesterday.
The Jiaolong, China's manned submersible named after a mythical sea dragon, reached 7,020 meters below sea level at about 11am local time during its fourth dive into the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean.
The submersible began to dive four hours before and was back on mother ship Xiangyanghong 09 some 11 hours later.
The oceanauts, Ye Cong, Liu Kaizhou and Yang Bo, worked for almost three hours on the sea floor, collecting water samples and sediment and placing markers on the bottom.
Since arriving at the area earlier this month, the Jiaolong has succeeded in reaching depths of 6,671, 6,965 and 6,963 meters in its previous three dives from June 15 to 22, far surpassing the national record of 5,188 meters it set last July.
"It has been proved during the four times of dive that the submersible is stable in function and the capabilities of the team performing the test dives are improving gradually," said Liu Feng, commander at the scene.
"The breakthrough of diving deeper than 7,000 meters will enable China to conduct scientific surveys in over 99.8 percent of the world's seabed areas," said Liu Cigui, director of the State Oceanic Administration.
The submersible will attempt two more dives into the Mariana Trench, the world's deepest place, and is expected to return to China in mid-July.
The Jiaolong, China's manned submersible named after a mythical sea dragon, reached 7,020 meters below sea level at about 11am local time during its fourth dive into the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean.
The submersible began to dive four hours before and was back on mother ship Xiangyanghong 09 some 11 hours later.
The oceanauts, Ye Cong, Liu Kaizhou and Yang Bo, worked for almost three hours on the sea floor, collecting water samples and sediment and placing markers on the bottom.
Since arriving at the area earlier this month, the Jiaolong has succeeded in reaching depths of 6,671, 6,965 and 6,963 meters in its previous three dives from June 15 to 22, far surpassing the national record of 5,188 meters it set last July.
"It has been proved during the four times of dive that the submersible is stable in function and the capabilities of the team performing the test dives are improving gradually," said Liu Feng, commander at the scene.
"The breakthrough of diving deeper than 7,000 meters will enable China to conduct scientific surveys in over 99.8 percent of the world's seabed areas," said Liu Cigui, director of the State Oceanic Administration.
The submersible will attempt two more dives into the Mariana Trench, the world's deepest place, and is expected to return to China in mid-July.
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