Chandrayaan-3, Vikram, Pragyan done and now, meet Samudrayaan's Matsya 6000

After touching the Moon through ISRO spacecraft Chandrayaan-3, Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover, India will dive into the deep sea. Know all about the Samudrayaan and Matsya 6000.

After ISRO earned accolades for India with Chandrayaan-3, Vikram and Pragyan on the Moon, Minister of Earth Sciences announces Samudrayaan mission. (Kiren Rijiju/ X)

After touching the Moon through ISRO spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover, India will dive into the deep sea. Yes, India right now is on a mission to explore every part of the universe, including the depths of the Earth. After the successful Chandrayaan-3 mission, India plans to explore the ocean. The mission is now in the development phase as this would be the very first deep ocean exploration mission. The mission is named “ Samudrayaan” and it will soon beat the waves of ocean and support our “Blue Economy” initiative.

About Samudrayaan mission

The Minister of Earth Sciences, Kiren Rijiju shared a post on X saying, “Next is "Samudrayaan" This is 'MATSYA 6000' submersible under construction at National Institute of Ocean Technology at Chennai. India's first manned Deep Ocean Mission ‘Samudrayaan' plans to send 3 humans in 6-km ocean depth in a submersible, to study the deep sea resources and biodiversity assessment.”

The Samudrayaan mission will deploy the 'MATSYA 6000' submersible along with three crew members to study the ocean. The submarine is being developed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in Chennai. It is called the super advanced ocean vehicle that will support the mission's objectives. The number "6000" of the ocean vehicle denotes that it can go as deep as 6000 meters under the ocean's surface.

The submersible will consist of instruments like an Autonomous Coring System (ACS), Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), and Deep Sea Mining System (DSM) that will help in easy exploration of the deep sea. Throughout this mission, scientists will be on the lookout for substances, including nickel, cobalt, and manganese.

As per reports. it is estimated that the Deep Ocean Mission will cost Rs. 4,077 crores, covering 2021-2026. Currently, there is a budget of Rs. 1,400 crores, of which Rs. 405.92 crores have already been spent and Rs. 225.35 crores have already been incurred.

Earlier in December 2022, under the Deep Ocean Mission, a Deepwater Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) which was named Ocean Mineral Explorer (OMe 6000) was sent underwater about 5271 meters to find minerals at the Polymetallic Manganese Nodule (PMN) site in the central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB). The study findings will empower the upcoming Samudrayaan mission in accomplishing its objectives.