India's remarkable first manned deep ocean mission
After the success of the Lunar expedition, Chandrayaan 3 and the Solar mission, Aditya 1, India is poised for another recklessly brave endeavour, Samudrayaan MATSYA 6000
Samudrayaan plans to plunge 3 human beings, 6000 meters beneath the ocean's surface in a homegrown submersible to study the deep sea resources including precious metals and minerals .
The Matsya 6000 is an "Indian crewed "deep-sea exploration vehicle" designed for conducting deep-sea mineral exploration as part of the "Deep Ocean mission." It is under construction at National Institute of Ocean Technology at Chennai.
The Deep Ocean Mission supports the 'Blue Economy' vision of Hon'ble Prime Minister of Sh. Narendra Modi Ji and envisages sustainable utilization of ocean resources for economic growth of the country, improve livelihoods and jobs, and preserve ocean ecosystem health.
The Deep Ocean Mission was approved by the Cabinet with an overall estimated cost of Rs 4,077 crores for two phases of the mission period during 2021-2026, the statement released by the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
The submersible is made of 80 mm-thick titanium alloy and has a diameter sphere of 2.1 meters to withstand 600 bar pressure at 6,000 metres depth under water which will be 600 times more than the pressure at sea level.
It has an endurance of up to 12 hours and an emergency endurance of 96 hours. The submersible will be equipped with robotic arms that can collect samples from the ocean floor, manipulate objects.
It can withstand extreme pressures found in the deep ocean. The submersible is equipped with scientific instruments for conducting various experiments & measurements including water quality analysis, sediment sampling.
MATSYA 6000 was dropped for the trial to a depth of 600 meters. Upon the successful trial, the mission received certification and the project was finally launched on 29th October 2021 by Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge).
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