generalspeaking

Informing The Next Generation of Exploration

It takes fearless people with vision and a dauntless sense of adventure to embark upon missions such as these. The great explorers of the past trekked to the ends of the Earth to discover places imagined but never seen and later described and mapped for the use of those who followed. The curious and the scientific-minded, urged forward by the strength of their personal conviction that the purpose of their lives was to forge on regardless of physical difficulties and dangerous encounters, to commit to exotic discoveries.

There are still some remaining areas on the surface of the Earth that have yet to be closely investigated, and new species of animal and plant life to be isolated, researched and identified and classified. Dense, dark jungles do not give up their secrets casually, they must be probed and carefully drawn out to disgorge their mysteries. And the same applies to archaeological discoveries, in attempts to understand our geological and human past.

Outer space is far from being conquered, although impressive and astonishing discoveries have been made about distant planets and our own satellite, the moon. Promising much more to come in the future. Space stations may become increasingly more common as private enterprise sees profit emerging, even while nations' military budgets decline, leaving the way clear for other enterprises to take up where they have left off.

The young and the not-so-young enquiring minds that will not rest easy until everything is known, becomes familiar, is revealed and studied are inspired by initial successes promising more to come. Scientists and technicians and those who privately fund enterprises to breach the depths of the world's oceans represent a determination to investigate fully another unknown territory of the imagination.

"This is the heart of the deep seas, the remote areas we know least about. There are serious challenges - typhoons on the surface and unknown hazards beneath - but that is what makes it worthwhile. What we learn here will inform the next generation." Chris Welsh, test pilot

He's speaking of a new submersible vessel, the Virgin Oceanic, set to "fly" fully seven miles down to the floor of the Pacific Ocean, a depth that seems impossible to achieve. The enterprise funded by Sir Richard Branson. In memory of his friend Steve Fossett, another dedicated explorer whom death took in a mysterious air crash four years ago.

And then there's James Cameron, building a bathysphere to reach the extreme depths of the Mariana trench, an immense fold that runs for 2,400 kilometres in the ocean floor, 69 kilometres in width. "If you can make it to the Challenger Deep - and hopefully back; there is no AAA if you get into trouble - then you have helped open up the world's oceans."

Wait, former Google chief Executive Eric Schmidt is designing a finned submarine, Deepsearch, to glide along the seabed. The three-seat vessel is expected to plunge 36,000 feet in just over an hour, to provide scientists with unlimited access to the 'deep ocean' floor.

Not to be outdone, a Florida company has plans to build a submersible for tourism at $250,000 a pop to scrutinize the bottom of the Mariana trench, at the 36,000 depth. It is anticipated there will be a popular demand for deepsea mini-submarines; "...there are super-rich who seek competitive novelties..."

Can you imagine? Can you imagine, for example, trusting that these state-of-the-art submersibles will not succumb to the enormous pressures present at oceanic depths impossible to imagine. That you might want to pay a quarter-million dollars for the privilege of sinking in a relatively tidy vessel with impermeable, unbreakable (you hope) glass windows, to observe the bottom of the ocean.

With patience, the experience will be coming to an Imax, 3D screen near you...

The Challenger Deep is held to represent the deepest spot on Earth. Although in 2003, Hawaiian scientists surveying the ocean floor with sonar instruments felt they had good reason to suspect there may be an even deeper area 120 miles along the trench. The suspicion is that this may lead further into the Earth.

The sunless depths of the deep ocean have already provided explorers and scientists with some unforeseen surprises; that sea creatures could live and thrive so deep where immense pressures exist, and that those creatures could be incredibly colourful despite the absence of sunlight, and that overheated oceanic vents that emit hot bubbling steam can still provide a haven for thriving aquatic creatures.

Labels: Adventure, Environment, Science, Technology

posted by Pieface @ Sunday, August 14, 2011