India's Samudrayaan mission to study ocean bed by 2025
India's Earth Sciences Minister, Kiren Rijiju, has shared exciting news about the country's Samudrayaan mission India should be able to send its scientists to explore the deep ocean, situated 6km beneath the sea surface, by the end of next year. In an interview with PTI, Rijiju explained that Matsya6000, a deep-ocean submersible designed to carry humans to depths of 6,000 meters, is making great progress and shallow-water testing could happen as early as this year after reviewing the project.
Rijiju confident in Samudrayaan's progress
Rijiju expressed his confidence in the Samudrayaan mission and the Matsya6000. He said, "When you talk about Samudrayaan, you are now talking about our mission to go up to around 6,000 meters, 6km deep inside the ocean, where even light cannot reach." "I can say that as far as our Matsaya, the machine which will take human beings inside, (is concerned), it's well on course."
Samudrayaan and its capabilities
Announced in 2021, Samudrayaan is a groundbreaking deep ocean mission that involves a crewed expedition to reach a depth of 6,000 meters in the central Indian Ocean using the Matsya6000. This submersible can accommodate a crew of three and comes equipped with various scientific sensors and tools. It has an operational endurance of 12 hours, which can be extended up to 96 hours in emergencies.
India poised to join elite group of nations
Once the Samudrayaan mission is successfully completed, India will join an exclusive group of nations with deep-ocean crewed mission capabilities. Currently, only the US, China, Russia, France, and Japan have achieved successful deep-ocean crewed missions. India's entry into this elite group will showcase its expertize and ability to undertake such challenging underwater expeditions.