Diving Dragon: Jiaolong submersible plumbs ocean depths 
The Jiaolong submersible prepares to be deployed. (Photo) A Chinese submersible conducted the country's deepest manned dive ever Thursday in the latest milestone for China's deep-sea ambitions as it seeks to exploit the vast resources of the ocean floor. 
Jiaolong is the world's deepest-diving manned submersible, designed to reach depths of 7,000 meters. (File) The Jiaolong undersea craft -- named after a mythical sea dragon -- reached 4,027 metres (13,211 feet) below sea level in a test dive in the northeastern Pacific, the State Oceanic Administration said in a statement. "The success of this test dive has laid a solid foundation for completing the mission of diving to 5,000 metres," it said. Video: Jiaolong finished diving test and emerged It has spectacular mechanical capability. With seven propellers, the submersible can move freely in all directions in the deep ocean. Equipped with a powerful sonar system, the submersible can detect the landscape of the seafloor in detail within 200 meters. Rather than using an electromagnetic wave system, which deteriorates easily in water, Jiaolong uses a sound wave system to communicate with the mother-ship. 
Jiaolong has advanced safety measures. As well as possessing stored oxygen, which can support the ship's crew for 84 hours when emergency situations occur, Jiaolong has additional built-in rescue equipment. It can regain 2 tons of buoyant force by dumping heavy equipment and detaching its mechanical arm when it is entangled. Also, its float gage can raise the 9000-meter long cable placed on top of the submersible, which can notify the mother-ship to use the cable winch to carry out rescue operations. (AFP/Xinhua/CNTV)   |
|
|
