STATE TIMES NEWS
NEW DELHI: As a part of Samudrayaan Mission, undertaken by the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, India aims to send human being 6000 meters below sea level.
Sharing the details, Union Minister, Dr Jitendra Singh said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had referred to Deep Sea Mission in his Independence Day address of two consecutive years in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
The mission, said the Minister, heralds India’s ushering into an era of “Blue Economy” which is going to play a major part in building India’s overall economy during the years to come.
Dr Jitendra further elaborated that a vehicle called MATSYA will carry three persons to a depth of 6000 meters for exploration of deep-sea resources like minerals. This mission, he said, is expected to be realized in the next three years. Singh added that MATSYA 6000 is being designed and developed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
“It has an endurance of 12 hours under normal operation and 96 hours in case of emergency for human safety.”
The Minister added that apart from the scientific research and technological empowerment as the benefits, this mission has immediate spin-offs in the form of underwater engineering innovations in asset inspection, tourism and promotion of ocean literacy.
“Development of 6000 m depth rated Integrated Mining Machine and unmanned vehicles (tethered and automated) to explore deep sea resources and biodiversity assessment,” Singh said.
