Mission update:
1st dive: Atantic - Puerto Rico Trench - COMPLETE. In a historic feat, explorer Victor Vescovo became the first human to dive on a solo mission to the deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean – the verified bottom of the Puerto Rico Trench at 8,376 meters/27,480 feet in his private submersible, the Limiting Factor. The trench was previously explored to approximately 8,300 meters by the French submersible Archimede in 1964, but it did not reach the deepest point. The dive also makes the Limiting Factorthe deepest diving operational submersible in the world, surpassing the previous operational record-holder, the Chinese submersible Jiaolong which has reportedly reached a maximum depth of 7,062 meters. A groundbreaking documentary series about the expedition is also being filmed by Atlantic Productions for Discovery Channel, and will air in 2019/2020.
In addition to Vescovo’s solo dive, the expedition also accomplished:
First manned descent to the verified bottom of the Puerto Rico Trench, the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean
First American-made submersible to dive deeper than 6,100 meters since the US Navy’s DSV-4 Sea Cliffin 1985, thirty-three years ago
Only the second solo dive made deeper than 5,000 meters. Only James Cameron in his Deepsea Challengerhas made a deeper solo dive, to full ocean depth (10,908 meters) in 2012
2nd dive: Southern - South Sandwich Trench - COMPLETE. The Five Deeps Expedition crosses another historic dive off its list when explorer Victor Vescovo became the first human to dive to the deepest point in the Southern Ocean – in the southern portion of the South Sandwich Trench – at 7,433.6 meters/24,388 feet in his private submersible, the Limiting Factor. Located just north of the Antarctic continent, the Southern Ocean’s South Sandwich Trench has not been thoroughly explored and is the only subzero Hadal zone (deeper than 6,000 meters) in the world. No human has ever dived in the trench, and what few samples have been taken from its hadal depths, date back to the early 1970s. Due to its remote location, this dive posed many logistical and weather-related challenges, however the scientific findings could prove to be groundbreaking.
In addition to Vescovo’s solo dive, the expedition also accomplished:
First human being to reach the bottom of the Southern Ocean in the southern portion of the South Sandwich Trench
Most accurate mapping of the South Sandwich Trench to date using a modern multibeam sonar system • Deepest dive into a sub-zero Hadal zone, only the third solo dive below 7,000 meters
The third-deepest solo dive in history, after James Cameron’s 2012 dive to the Pacific Ocean’s Challenger Deep, and Vescovo’s dive in December 2019 to the bottom of the Atlantic
3rd dive: Indian - Java Trench - COMPLETE. For the third time, the Five Deeps Expedition has successfully dived to the previously-unvisited bottom of one of the world’s five oceans. The team completed a mission to reach one of the most isolated points on the planet: the deepest point of the Java Trench in the Indian Ocean. Now measured at 7,192 meters/23,596 feet deep, Victor Vescovo is the first human to dive to its depths in the DSV Limiting Factor (Triton 36000/2 model submersible) the world’s deepest diving, currently operational submarine. At the bottom of the trench, the team managed to capture footage from the sub and from the landers of what are believed to be entirely new species, yet unseen by humans. From the sub, a new species of hadal snailfish was observed amongst many other bottom dwelling organisms, and the landers observed an extraordinary gelatinous animal – thought to be a stalked Ascidean, otherwise known as a Sea Squirt – which does not resemble anything seen before.
In addition to Vescovo’s solo dive, the expedition also accomplished:
First descent to the bottom of the Indian Ocean
The most solo dives - three - deeper than 7,000m have now been made by a single individual, Victor Vescovo
First manned descent of any significant depth (below 2,000 meters) in the Java Trench and the first descent to the absolute bottom of the trench (7,192m)
Deepest dive by a British citizen (Scottish) in that country’s history, by Dr. Alan Jamieson to 7,180 meters, and first to visit a hadal zone
First seabed lander operations including biological sampling and depth confirmation at the bottom of the Diamantina Fracture Zone in the Indian Ocean, 800 miles west of the Australian coast
Discovered at least 4 new species of life, including one significantly-sized, stalked Ascidean, previously unseen by any member of the expedition science team
Completed the third dive of the Five Deeps Expedition and thus 60% complete with the overall mission, and remaining on schedule for completion in September 2019
Three down, two more to go! Next step - Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench!
