India prepares underwater mission to explore ocean depths 

Delhi: After the success of the Chandrayaan 3 mission to the moon, Indian scientists are gearing up for an ambitious underwater exploration mission.

Under the project "Samundaryan," three individuals will be sent to the depths of the ocean, reaching depths of up to 6,000 meters, using a specially designed submersible named "Matsya 6000."

The primary objectives of this mission are to search for valuable metals like cobalt, nickel, and manganese in the seabed and conduct environmental assessments of the oceanic environment.

The Matsya 6000, currently under development for nearly two years, will undergo its first test near the shores of the Bay of Bengal at the beginning of 2024.

This submersible, akin to the Titan submersible that met its demise in June 2023 while descending to the ocean floor, has been meticulously designed to facilitate human missions in the ocean's depths.

Notably, India's National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) scientists are spearheading the development of the Matsya 6000, overseeing its design, materials, testing phases, and standard protocols.

M. Rajeevan, India's Secretary of Earth Sciences, disclosed in an interview that the Samundaryan mission is underway, with initial trials set to take place in the first quarter of 2024 at a depth of 500 meters in the ocean.

Images and further details about this project were shared on Twitter by India's Minister of Earth Sciences, Harsh Vardhan.

The project is expected to be completed by 2026. Currently, countries like the United States, Russia, Japan, France, and China possess the capability to send human-carrying missions to ocean depths.

J.G. Ramadas, the Director of NIOT, stated that the Matsya 6000, with a diameter of 2.1 meters, can accommodate three individuals.

The submersible is equipped with a robust 80-mm-thick titanium hull, capable of withstanding pressures over 600 times greater than the ocean's surface pressure.

The Matsya 6000 can travel underwater for 12 to 16 hours at a time and carries a 96-hour oxygen supply.

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… pic.twitter.com/aHuR56esi7

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) September 11, 2023