After years of preparation culminating in a frenzy of test dives in the South Pacific, James Cameron has become the first solo explorer of the Challenger Deep, which is at the bottom of the Mariana Trench — the deepest point in the world’s oceans. Previously measured at about 35,800 feet below sea level, we’ll know a great deal more about the Deep as the data from Cameron’s effort is analyzed. His submersible, the Deepsea Challenger, has already been to the bottom and back without him, helping give Cameron and his team confidence that it would safely survive his attempt.
One of the frustrating issues with deep sea exploration is the difficulty of spotting marine creatures. With almost no natural light and a very low density of life, its easy to come away empty-handed and not learn about life far below the ocean’s surface. As with so many aspects of the effort, Cameron and his team have an answer even for that challenge. They sent down an unmanned “lander” to the bottom armed with chemical bait to begin to attract fish and other sea creatures that might be around. Cameron’s plan has been to use sonar to rendezvous with it. His massive 8-foot panel of LED lights and high-tech 5K RED video camera gives him a good chance to capture — in image only — for posterity some previously un-recorded denizens of the Challenger Deep.
The lander is just the icing on the cake of the technologies Cameron’s team has employed in his effort. Multiple fail-safe systems to bring him back to the surface in case of emergency may be obvious life-protecting features, but he can even collect and drink the perspiration that collects on the inner surface of his 4-foot spherical cockpit if he runs out of water. The sub’s robot arm is capable of collecting and storing up to 60 pounds of samples, so there should be plenty more interesting news as scientists are able to work through them, assuming Cameron has been able to successfully pilot the sub and run the robot arm in the very challenging environment. Cameron did slow the final portion of his descent at least partially so the sub wouldn’t kick up so much sediment when it reached bottom that he couldn’t see — a mistake the Trieste made when it made the same trip over 50 years ago.
Not one to miss out on maximizing a historic moment, Cameron invited Lieutenant Don Walsh — the only living person who has been to the Deep — to join him on his surface ship, the Mermaid Sapphire, to celebrate. Paul Allen has also joined the fun, motoring his 414-foot super yacht, Octopus, to the area Friday. For those without their own means of transport to the Ulithi atoll to see Cameron in person, National Geographic has helpfully provided a 2-minute video outlining the major milestones of the dive.