Newswise — The deepest spot in the world's oceans, the Mariana Trench, has been visited by humans only once in history: In 1960, two men descended 10.9 kilometers to the bottom of the trench in a "bathyscaphe," an early deep-sea diving vehicle. In the 52 years since that great adventure, only three robots have seen the floor of the trench.
Now Virgin Oceanic is pushing to return a human to that ultimate abyss. The company, cofounded by Virgin Group chairman Sir Richard Branson and adventurer Chris Welsh, says its next-generation sub technology can make deep-sea exploration cheaper and more routine. They plan to prove it with a dive to the Mariana Trench's seafloor in 2012.
This feature article showcases the derring-do of the Virgin Oceanic team, and describes the experimental, high-tech sub designed for the Mariana Trench voyage. It also explores the question of whether major research institutions have given up on human exploration of the world's deepest places, leaving wealthy adventurers to take up the challenge.
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