Submersible to go to bottom of ocean
Print Edition
CHINA is developing a manned submersible capable of reaching the deepest known point in the world’s oceans.
The 11,000-meter, deep-sea submersible was planned to conduct its first ocean test in 2021, said Yan Kai, director of the State Key Laboratory of Deep-Sea Manned Submersible under the China Ship Scientific Research Center.
Yan, a deputy to the National People’s Congress, said on the sidelines of the annual legislative session that the submersible was part of the Jiaolong family, whose manned device set China’s record of reaching 7,062 meters deep in the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench in 2012.
Yan said the record-setting dive boosted the confidence of Chinese scientists in conducting deep-sea research exploration on their own and laid a solid foundation of developing even more sophisticated devices.
The known deepest part of the ocean is the Challenger Deep at a depth of around 11,000 meters in the Mariana Trench. Submersibles capable of reaching that depth will offer new hopes of setting up deep-sea labs, where scientists can conduct biological, medical and genetic research and explore mineral, oil and gas resources.
However, Yan said that 11,000-meter submersible research still faced challenges in numerous areas including pressure-resistant materials, design, energy and telecommunications.
Meanwhile, Yan’s lab is in the final stages of developing a 4,500-meter submersible to be delivered to its client, the Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in the second half of this year.
The submersible, which was completely designed and made in China, is equipped with five observation windows and can stay underwater for 12 hours, creating favorable conditions for researchers to expand the scope of their observation, Yan said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
