China's manned submersible goes down 5000 mts ocean depth
China today acquired deep sea exploration capability when its manned submersible 'Jiaolong', successfully reached a depth of 5,057 meters, becoming the fifth country in the world to have done so.
The submersible carrying three people reached the depth of of 5,057 meters in an international area of the Pacific Ocean, during a test dive which started at 3:38 AM (0108 IST) today, State Oceanic Administration (SOA) here said.
China which initiated the Jiaolong project in 2002, is the fifth country to send a manned submersible 3,500 metres below sea level, after the United States, France, Russia and Japan.
Today’s achievement means Jiaolong, could reach over 70 per cent of the seabed in the world, the SOA said.
It would provide China deep sea exploration ability to search for minerals and other resources in the sea bed.
The three people onboard and the submersible were in sound condition when it reached the depth of 5,057 metres, and they are now ascending, SOA officials said.
Such a depth means the Jiaolong is capable of reaching over 70 percent of the sea bed in the world, Wang Fei, deputy director of SOA and director of the leading team of the diving test programme said.
"It will pave way for a record-breaking 7,000-metre test dive in 2012," Wang said.
Japan is the current world record holder, whose Shinkai 6500 succeeded in diving to 6,527 metres in August 1989.
Deep diving poses a challenge to the submersible's capacity to withstand water pressure and its tightness, according to Wang.
"At a depth of 5,000 meters, the Jiaolong withstood great pressure amounting to 5,000 tonnes per square metre," Wang told Xinhua news agency.
The Jiaolong, is named after a mythical sea dragon.
The Jiaolong is the world's first manned submersible designed to reach the depth of 7,000 meters below sea level, according to Xu Qinan, chief designer of the submersible.
The craft completed 17 dives in the South China Sea from May 31 to July 18 last year, with the deepest reaching 3,759 meters.
