Review of deep-sea submersible Jiaolong's diving journey

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China's deep-sea submersible has returned to Qingdao port in East China after reaching a depth of 7,062 meters in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean late last month. It was a significant step for China's deep-water technology.

During the two year-period from August 2009 to August 2011, the Jiaolong submersible conquered the depth from 600 meters to 5,188 meters below sea level. This means that China has become the fifth country in the world to master deep-sea diving technology. The attempt to dive 7,000 meters in June, 2012 had unique significance.

"Each diving depth is a new challenge for the Jiaolong submersible, particularly the 7,000-meter depth. You need to review it from different perspectives."

Different from previous diving attempts, the location of the 7,000-meter dive was in the deepest region in the world: the Mariana Trench in the West Pacific Ocean.

"The deeper it is, the more pressure there is. Compared with previous diving attempts, we had more scientific experience. We also made improvements on the submersible."

Successfully reaching 7,000-meters below sea-level means the ability to explore over 99.8% percent of the ocean worldwide. Moving from below 5,000-meters to below 7,000-meters is not just a difference of 2,000 meters; it's a leap forward in China's diving technology.

Jiaolong's diving journey in 2012:

2012-07-16 Jiaolong ends deep sea dives

China's deep sea submersible Jiaolong has returned to base in the eastern city of Qingdao. It marks the completion of a ten year program of deep sea research, development and exploration. Full Story>>

2012-06-30 Jiaolong makes 6th and last dive: 7,035 meters below sea level

China's deep-sea manned submersible Jiaolong has completed its 6th and last dive in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. This time, submersible reached 7,035 meters below sea level. Full Story>>

2012-06-27 Jiaolong makes 5th dive: 7,062 meters below sea level

China’s deep-sea manned submersible, Jiaolong, has begun its fifth dive to the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. Full Story>>

2012-06-24 Jiaolong makes 4th dive: 7,020 meters below sea level

China's deep-sea manned submersible, the Jiaolong has reached a depth of 7,020 meters during its fourth dive in the Mariana Trench. The feat has set a new manned submersible dive record for the country. Full Story>>

2012-06-22 Jiaolong makes 3rd dive: 6,963 meters below sea level

China's manned deep-sea submersible Jiaolong is making its third dive in the Mariana Trench. The third dive only aims to reach a depth of 6,960 meters, as the main aim is to test about 200 indexes of the submersible and as well to put to the test lessons learned from the first and second dives. Full Story>>

2012-06-19 Jiaolong makes 2nd dive: 6,965 meters below sea level

China's deep-sea manned submersible Jiaolong has reached a depth of 6,965 meters below sea level during its second dive into the Mariana Trench. The feat has surpassed a fresh national record set earlier on Tuesday. Full Story>>

2012-06-15 Jiaolong makes 1st dive: 6,671 meters below sea level

China's manned deep-sea submersible, the Jiaolong, has concluded it's first in a series of scheduled dives and has gone back to its mother ship. Jiaolong reached nearly 6700 meters in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific, the deepest in China's manned deep sea diving history. Full Story>>

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China's manned submersible Jiaolong completes deep sea dives

Jiaolong brings back 11 new species from 7,000-meter dive.