After Conquering the Moon, India Dives Deep with Samudrayaan – The Next Frontier Awaits

September 28, 2024 Musaraf Hossain

Following the triumph of its Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission, India is now setting its sights on ocean exploration. Ambitious preparations are underway to send a team of three humans on a deep-sea expedition, plunging to a depth of 6 km into the ocean. The mission’s objectives encompass not only exploration but also assessments of biodiversity in the deep-sea environment. This endeavor underscores India’s commitment to expanding its scientific horizons, both in space and in the uncharted depths of Earth’s oceans, further solidifying its position in the realm of exploration and discovery.

On Tuesday, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju shared pictures of ‘Matsya 6000’, a submersible which is in preparation for exploring the deep oceans as part of India’s ‘Samudrayaan Mission’.

The ‘Samudrayaan Mission’ is being spearheaded by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in Chennai, a division of the Ministry of Earth Sciences. This initiative follows India’s achievement of a ‘soft-landing’ on the Moon’s south pole, marking its foray into ocean exploration. The mission’s ambitious goal is to dispatch a team of three individuals to explore the ocean’s depths, descending to a remarkable depth of 6 km, all while conducting vital biodiversity assessments. This multi-dimensional endeavor exemplifies India’s expanding horizons in scientific exploration, encompassing both celestial and terrestrial frontiers.

Minister of Earth Sciences, Rijiju, paid a visit to the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in Chennai on Monday. During his visit, he conducted a comprehensive review of the submersible ‘Matsya 6000’ and offered valuable updates regarding India’s inaugural manned deep ocean mission. This underscores the government’s active involvement and commitment to advancing scientific exploration in the deep sea domain.

Source: Uttarakhand News

Rijiju said:“ 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 Deep Ocean Mission supports the ‘Blue Economy’ vision of PM @narendramodi ji, and envisages sustainable utilization of ocean resources for economic growth of the country, improve livelihoods and jobs, and preserve ocean ecosystem health,” Rijiju said.

In addition to sharing pictures with the scientists and engineers working on Matsya 6000, the Union minister wrote, “Our Scientists, Researchers and Engineers are fully devoted to make the Deep Ocean Mission very successful in a sustainable manner.”

Rijiju further shared a video from inside the vessel, where an expert detailed how ‘Matsya 6000’ would navigate and explore the deep ocean, elucidating on the measures for sustaining the expedition team during their deep-sea sojourn.

Previously, Union Minister of State for Earth Sciences, Jitendra Singh, highlighted that the ‘MATSYA 6000’ submersible boasts a standard operational endurance of 12 hours, with the capacity to extend up to 96 hours during emergencies to ensure the safety of the human crew.

The ‘Samudrayaan Mission’ has set its target completion date for the year 2026, signifying India’s dedicated efforts toward achieving milestones in deep-sea exploration.

The mission aims to finish by 2026 and shows India’s commitment to exploring both space and the deep sea. Like this post? Don’t forget to check out our other short stories in our Quick Read section

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