China's manned submersible Jiaolong to attempt record dive

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China's manned deep-sea submersible, Jiaolong, will attempt a record dive of 7,000 meters below sea level in June.

Its mothership has already set off for the mission. If the attempt is successful, it means China will have the technology to navigate 99.8 percent of the earth's seabeds. Experts say utilizing marine resources is vital for China's long-term sustainable development.

Soon the Jiaolong deep-sea submersible will carry its two-man crew to depths no Chinese manned vessel has ever reached.

Seven thousand meters underwater, the vessel will have to withstand seven hundred times the pressure it does on land. Will it manage?

China's manned deep-sea submersible, Jiaolong, will attempt a record dive of 7,000 meters below sea level in June.

A marine expert Song Xiaojun says, "Technically, there's no problem for Jiaolong to reach a depth of 7,000 meters. The vessel is designed to dive even deeper. And it's passed all underwater pressure and communication tests."

Scientists have fitted a new pair of mechanical hands to Jiaolong to enable underwater operations. This time the length of the operation will be extended to over 10 hours, compared with the 2.5 hours operation it carried out just 1 year ago, when it dived to 5,000 meters.

If the operation is successful, China will have the technology to navigate almost any seabed on earth.

And what's the purpose?

China's manned deep-sea submersible, Jiaolong, will attempt a record dive of 7,000 meters below sea level in June.

Song Xiaojun also says, "The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, allocates several zones of the high seas to China for resource management. Those geographical zones contain ores and resources that can't be found on land. But most of these resources are located at depths as low as 6,000 meters, some as low as 10,000 meters. China needs the technology to utilize these resources, because energy is the key to the country's industrialization.

For 5,000 years, China predominantly focused on land-based resource management. Now research will also turn to sea exploration. The country has turned oceanic high-tech innovation into an emerging strategic industry.

Liu Cigui, director of State Oceanic Administration says, "The ability to develop oceanic-resource management is directly linked to the country's competitveness in a marine economy era."

Jiaolong's mothership has now set off to Jiangyin in east China. There, it will carry the manned-submersible to the earth's deepest trench, Mariana.