James Cameron Embarks On 7 Mile Deep Sea Dive To The Mariana Trench
UPDATE: James Cameron has reached the deepest place on earth. “The Abyss” director reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench on the ocean floor at a depth of depth of 35,756 feet earlier this evening. Cameron radioed to the surface “All systems OK.”
The original story continues below.
The weather gods have finally smiled on James Cameron. The “Titanic” director set off today on a 7-mile deep sea dive to the Marina Trench, the deepest part of the ocean.
Cameron’s deep sea dive was scheduled to take place last week but bad weather has postponed the journey several times. The BBC reports that Cameron and his one-man submarine, the Deepsea Challenger, set off this morning to the Mariana Trench which lies 7 miles below the surface of the western Pacific. Cameron plans to spend six hours exploring and filming the Mariana Trench before returning to the surface.
Cameron is the first person in fifty years to attempt the deep sea dive. In 1960, US Navy Lt. Don Walsh and Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard spent 20 minutes on the ocean floor.
Cameron said:
“I grew up on a steady diet of science fiction at a time when people where living a science fiction reality. People were going to the Moon, and Cousteau was exploring the ocean. And that’s what I grew up with, what I valued from my childhood.”
The DeepSea Challenger, which was financed by Cameron, Rolex, and National Geographic, is equipped with several lights and cameras. Cameron plans on releasing a documentary after the dive.
The BBC notes that the DeapSea Challenger weighs 11 tons, is 23 feet long, and has been described as a vertical torpedo. Cameron will be sitting in a small steel compartment that can withstand the immense atmospheric pressure of the Mariana Trench. The sub also has robotic arms that will be used to take samples of rock and soil.
A team of experts will be watching the dive from the surface and are hoping to identify new deep sea creatures.
Are you excited to find out what lives in the Mariana Trench?
