Just yesterday, Virgin Group teamed up with an explorer, a submarine designer, and Google to launch Virgin Oceanic. This project is an attempt to explore one of the last frontiers on Planet Earth, the bottom of the oceans, places where no people have ever been or even ever seen before. Here's the link to the blog post, complete with a video with dramatic music and pictures of the project: http://www.boingboing.net/2011/04/05/sir-richard-branson.html
I find this absolutely fascinating. First because of how little we know about that part of the world, and second, because of how difficult this task really is. We discover new species from the deep sea all the time. With every new and deeper dive someone makes, a world of unknowns become known. Just as the post describes, the surface of the moon has had more human visitors and is better studied than the deep sea. The post also includes a post from Sir Richard Branson, which states that only 10% of all the lifeforms living on Earth are known to us at this time. Leaving 90% under the water, unexplored. This is craziness to me!
The second thing I wanted to say about this project is how difficult it will be to design a craft that will be able to operate (with people inside) at such great depths. This is a huge technological advance. The post states that at the greatest depths of the oceans, the pressure is greater than 1000 atmospheres. One small part of the craft is under 13,000 million pounds of pressure alone! The ability to create something that can withstand that kind of pressure safely enough to hold people is extraordinary. But with this little bit of technology, so much can be learned about our planet that no one knows, and with that knowledge, hopefully we'll be able to better protect our oceans and the rest of our planet.
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