It is often said that the bottom of our seas and oceans is less well known than the lunar surface. There is some reason in that argument. Our main instrument to acquire knowledge is electromagnetic radiation, in the optical range for human beings and in a wide range of frequencies when we talk about our devices. And these radiations are not able to cross the ocean to reach its deepest layers. Perhaps it is symbolic that a film director decided to solve the problem in a more direct way, going directly down into the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean. He did it in 2012 and it was the second manned descent into the Mariana Trench. Unfortunately, we haven’t done it since.
James Cameron is famous for movies like Titanic and Avatar but also for documentaries about the wreck of the Titanic itself and the wreck of the Bismarck. Or for movies like Abyss where it is inevitable to find samples of his passion for underwater exploration. Like Elon Musk with space, Cameron decided that public institutions were too slow and their projects too expensive. He wanted to go down to the deepest part of the ocean and decided to build a ship to do it.
We know that ascending just over 100 kilometers vertically takes us into space, but that short distance does not reflect how complex it is to do so. Descending 10 kilometers vertically does not seem like an ambitious challenge either, but the reality is very different. Not only because of the tremendous pressures that the vehicle has to endure once it hits the bottom. The entire process is enormously complex and delicate. For example, how fast can we descend safely? In addition to the resistance to the advance of the water, the very structure of the vehicle compresses and deforms in response to changes in pressure. For this reason, prudence advises descending slowly. In return, all the time spent is descending and ascending is less time for exploration. And more time until an eventual rescue in case of problems. In January 1960, the Trieste bathyscaphe managed to descend to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest place in the ocean. The descent “only” took 4 hours and 47 minutes, which left them with very little exploration time, just 20 minutes, before ascending again.
The Deepsea Challenger, which was the name given to Cameron’s vehicle, had a novel design. Since most of the movement was vertical, its distribution was oriented in that direction to facilitate movement. Naturally, the vehicle was packed with new technology and new materials to make diving easier and safer. One example was the replacement of the Trieste’s gasoline-filled floats with a novel “foam” made up of hollow microspheres in an epoxy matrix, light but highly resistant to pressure. The electronics, cameras and scientific equipment were far superior to those of the Trieste. On March 26, 2012, the Deepsea Challenger descended to the bottom in just 2 hours and 36 minutes and was able to spend about three hours exploring that environment. Sufficient time to obtain samples of life with dozens of new species, from bacteria to holothurians or crustaceans. And record a 3-D movie to remember the experience. Since it was an individual submarine, James Cameron himself descended to the bottom, manned the scientific equipment and cameras, and was responsible for the results. Some would say that it was only “doing the same thing fifty years later” but the scientific return was much higher. The parallels with a possible return to the Moon are evident.
Main elements of the Deepsea Challenge | picture Natgeo
Was Cameron the pioneer of the current vision for future space exploration? An exploration that seems to be based on convincing a few billionaires like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos to invest their money in the new technologies and vehicles that we need for it. Maybe. I think that all of us space fans have hopes, little or many, that this competition will recover some of the brilliance that the space race had 50 years ago. However, the scientific return is far from guaranteed. The end of this story can also serve as a warning.
Following its historic dive, Cameron turned the submarine over to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to continue its work. He also gave up the blueprints and design to allow others to use his advances. Something very meritorious but, perhaps, insufficient. Despite his interest in the ocean, he abandoned the project after a single dive. A brief visit, just a cursory look rather than a thorough exploration. As an added problem, the only prototype of the historic submarine was damaged in the fire of the truck that was transporting it. The final result? The possibility of exploring the deepest depths was lost again. Neither James Cameron was interested in repeating the project nor did the institutions have the funds to do so. Our deepest ocean exploration remains limited to just over 3 hours in 50 years. With promising results and numerous scientific publications, but necessarily limited. For the general public there is only one Twitter accountstopped for two years, and a website without updating.
My opinion is that, both in space and deep-ocean exploration, we need much more than developing technology. We need the collective will and sufficient resources to give it continuity. Rigorous scientific research requires time and sustained effort that is often only available to well-funded institutions, not individuals, no matter how wealthy and enthusiastic. People who also don’t have the motivation to continue exploring when they can’t find a clear way to monetize. Welcome, but we need something else.
This annotation was initially published in Naukas.