China's submersible to go 5,000 meters deep in Pacific Ocean

[Brotherhood]

China's submersible to go 5,000 meters deep in Pacific Ocean - People's Daily Online July 01, 2011

Photo taken on July 1, 2011 shows the Jiaolong submersible which is loaded on the "Xiangyanghong 09" scientific exploration ship at a port in Jiangyin City, east China's Jiangsu Province. The Jiaolong, China's manned deep-diving submersible, began its journey on Friday for a 5,000-meter dive in the Pacific Ocean, following last year's successful 3,759-meter dive. (Xinhua)

The Jiaolong, China's manned deep-diving submersible, began its journey on Friday for a 5,000-meter dive in the Pacific Ocean, following last year's successful 3,759-meter dive.

The Jiaolong, designed to reach a depth of 7,000 meters, completed 17 dives in the South China Sea from May 31 to July 18 last year, with the deepest reaching 3,759 meters with three crew members on board.

It makes China the fifth country, following the United States, France, Russia and Japan, to have the technology to send a manned dive over 3,500 meters below sea level.

 

[Break the Silence]

Btw, can you explain what will be the possible benifits and opportunities of it?
Thanx!

 

[Brotherhood]

Submersible dives into ocean elite of nations

BEIJING - A domestic submersible has reached a depth of 3,759 meters, making China the fifth country in the world to acquire deep-diving technology surpassing the 3,500-meter mark, authorities said on Thursday.

The Chinese submersible Jiaolong, which is 8.2 meters long and weighs nearly 22 tons, was designed to reach a depth of 7,000 meters and operate in most of the world's oceans, officials said.

Jiaolong is considered to be the world's only deep-sea vessel that can theoretically reach those depths. Japan's Shinkai 6500 has a depth capability of 6,500 meters.

The other three countries with deep-diving technology are the US, France and Russia.

A submersible differs from a submarine as it typically depends on another vessel or facility for support.

In an experiment when it landed on the seafloor, it placed the Chinese flag and a sign depicting the legendary dragon's palace onto the seabed with a robotic arm.

"The successful diving trials of Jiaolong marked a milestone in our country's deepwater equipment and technology development," said Wang Weizhong, vice-minister of science and technology.

"During the design and building stage, we overcame many technical difficulties such as pressure resistance, auto-control systems and battery capacity," Wang Fei, deputy chief of the State Oceanic Administration, said while introducing the submersible.

Jiaolong started its diving trials in August last year by going through depth stages.

"From last year's 50 meters, 300 meters and 1,000 meters to this year's depth of more than 3,700 meters, it is a great achievement. Such a depth means that Chinese scientists are able to conduct research in the deep. It also marks China becoming one of the few countries that possess manned deep-diving technology," said Liu Feng, chief director of the diving trials.

China's submersible development is aimed at scientific research to help with the peaceful exploration and utilization of natural resources, officials said.

Jiaolong's main missions include physical, chemical and biological research, as well as exploration and deep-sea salvage, officials said.

China Daily

 

[Splurgenxs]

Btw, can you explain what will be the possible benifits and opportunities of it?
Thanx!

^^^ From Checking deep dwelling bio diversity ,taking samples of base soil or scanning for wrecks. Since it has remote arms ,itl mostly be used, for lack of a better word scientific "reconnaissance" purposes imo .

 

[nomi007]

congratulation to china

 

[Way to go]

Good. Plant more flags in South China Sea.

 

[Martian2]

Good. Plant more flags in South China Sea.

Besides planting flags, the submersible can plant underwater sensors on the seabed. It has dextrous robotic arms.

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China's national flag on the seafloor in the South China Sea

Beijing's Blue-Water Navy - An FP Slide Show | Foreign Policy

A Chinese submersible -- a small submarine that relies on a support vessel -- places the national flag on the seafloor in the South China Sea on June 29, 2010. According to the New York Times, this mission signaled Beijing's intention to take regional lead in exploring remote and inaccessible parts of the ocean floor, which are rich in oil, minerals and other resources.

The submersible -- named Jiaolong, after a mythical sea dragon -- has successfully reached 3,759 meters beneath sea level during a manned test. It is designed to dive to a depth of 7,000 meters.

ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images

 

[drunken-monke]

Forget the space race, China dips into the deep-sea dash by taking sub 5,000m below the surface


A Chinese submersible conducted the country's deepest manned dive ever by reaching more than 5,000 metres below sea level.
And with film director James Cameron pledging to add his name to the exclusive club of those who have travelled to the bottom of Challenger Deep, in the West Pacific, to film the Avatar sequel –the race to get to the bottom of the sea is surging forward.
Chinese officials have refused to elaborate on where the Jiaolong undersea craft sunk, only stating it was a test dive in 'an international area' of the Pacific Ocean.

Chinese technical capabilities have gathered pace in recent decades, exemplified by a fast-growing space programme that in 2003 made China just the third nation to conduct manned space flight.

The craft, named after a mythical dragon, is designed to reach a maximum depth of 7,000 metres and it had carried three people to 4,027 metres below sea level in a test on Thursday.
The test dive started at 3:38am on Monday with the Jiaolong carrying three people, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.

Its success signified that the submersible would was capable of reaching over 70 per cent of the planet's seabed, the SOA said, according to Xinhua.
Twelve men have walked on the surface of the Moon and 500 have travelled into space, but only Piccard and Walsh have visited the very deepest point of the ocean, which they reached on January 23, 1960.
The Challenger Deep dive was one of the most extraordinary, and surprisingly little known, feats of human exploration in history, the voyage in a submarine to a place even more extreme than the surface of most planets.

Chinese technical capabilities have gathered pace in recent decades, exemplified by a fast-growing space programme that in 2003 made China just the third nation to conduct manned space flight.
But China's appetite for resources, rapid expansion of its military capabilities and increasingly strident territorial claims in the ocean have caused concern.
During the vessel's dive to the bottom of the disputed South China Sea last year it planted a Chinese flag in the seafloor in what was seen by some as a provocative act.
The South China Sea, which is believed to be rich in oil and gas, is claimed in whole or in part by China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia.
Scientists say the ocean's floors contain rich deposits of a range of potentially valuable minerals.
However, some concerns also have been raised that deep-sea vessels could be used to tap into or sever communications cables.
The SOA said the submersible would attempt a 7,000-metre dive in 2012.

Forget the space race, China dips into the deep-sea dash by taking sub 5,000m below the surface | Mail Online

 

[Huan]

Kudos to China on this milestone achievement. ^^