The Inside Story of Virgin Oceanic's Mission To the Mariana Trench

Slashdot
February 29, 2012 5:15 PM
by samzenpus

The Inside Story of Virgin Oceanic's Mission To the Mariana Trench

the_newsbeagle writes "Millionaire adventurer Chris Welsh, the driving force behind Virgin Oceanic, wants to name his sub "Scarlett" after Scarlett Johansson—that's how sexy this vehicle is. Welsh plans to pilot the experimental, cutting-edge sub to the bottom of the Mariana Trench sometime this year, in what would be only the second human descent to the deepest spot in the world's oceans (the first trip down was in 1960). This inside account of the Virgin Oceanic mission describes a team fueled by ego, science, and derring-do, and explains how their high-tech sub could usher in a new kind of marine exploration. The article also tells the story of an adventure on the high seas last summer, when Welsh & co visited the trench to test some robotic deep-sea landers... and ran smack into a typhoon."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

science

Dr. Art Trembanis

Associate Professor

CSHEL

109 Penny Hall

Department of Geological Sciences

The College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment

University of Delaware

Newark DE 19716

http://cshel.geology.udel.edu

302-831-2498

"We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."

-T. S. Eliot, Little Gidding

"Il faut aller voir" -JYC