Samudrayaan Mission: How deep can the Matsya 6000 dive?

Samudrayaan Mission: How deep can the Matsya 6000 dive?

The submersible is a part of the Samudrayaan project, developed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT).

Anand Ramadass, NIOT's director, highlights that the mission aims to harness sustainable ocean resources through technology.

The submersible will dive to a depth of 6,000 metres, where the pressure is 600 times greater than at sea level, and the temperature drops to 2°C.

Electromagnetic waves don't penetrate such depths, making human presence crucial for informed decision-making.

Safety is paramount. The submersible features a steel pressure hull tested at 500 metres depth and underwent human trials at 7 metres.

The vessel's mission includes a 12-hour duration: 3 hours for descent, 6 hours for research, and 3 hours for ascent.

Matsya 6000's goal is to explore resources like gas hydrates at 1,000 metres, poly-metallic nodules at 5,000 metres, and hydrothermal sulphides at 3,000 metres.

Once completed, India will join the elite group of countries deploying manned submersibles, which currently includes the US, Russia, France, Japan, and China.

Samudrayaan mission represents India's ambitious step into deep-sea mining for clean energy, yet it faces technical and economic hurdles that will need to be overcome to achieve its goals.