What deep submersibles have reached the bottom of the ocean?
Only 27 people have ever reached the deepest point on Earth, fewer than have walked on the Moon.
The answer
The first crewed descent to the Challenger Deep was made in 1960 by Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh in the bathyscaphe Trieste, reaching 10,916 meters. No one returned until James Cameron's solo dive in the Deepsea Challenger in 2012, reaching 10,908 meters. In 2019, Victor Vescovo piloted the Limiting Factor to 10,925 meters, and subsequently made multiple dives, making it the most reliable full-ocean-depth vehicle ever built. China's Fendouzhe submersible reached 10,909 meters in 2020. These vehicles must withstand pressures exceeding 1,100 atmospheres and operate in near-freezing temperatures with zero natural light, representing some of the most extreme engineering challenges humans have undertaken.
Source: National Geographic
- submersibles
- Challenger Deep
- deep sea exploration
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