Titanic Survey: OceanGate Manned Mission.
Weekly Titanic dives will begin in May
In what will be their debut on the Titanic expedition, Titan and dive teams made up of citizen researchers and explorers will travel 3800 meters below the surface of the North Atlantic to the site of the RMS Titanic wreck.
The inaugural Titanic Survey expedition operated by OceanGate Expeditions is very timely. Missions in 2019 have found that the Titanic wreck is rapidly degrading. There will only be a limited number of years left for people to visit and observe the remains of the Titanic that still lie on the ocean floor.
The expedition is scheduled to depart from St. John’s, Newfoundland, with scientists, content experts and mission specialists joining the crew on a series of week-long missions.
Expeditions must be conducted respectfully and in accordance with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Guidelines for the investigation, exploration and salvage of the RMS Titanic. These comply with UNESCO guidelines for the preservation of underwater world heritage sites.
Some 200 people have already been to the point in the North Atlantic where, since its sinking in 1912, the remains of the Titanic are found, and since May 2021 the seabed will receive visitors on a regular basis.
OceanGate Expeditions will begin offering dives in a small submarine as part of an eight-day trip at a price of USD 125,000.
It has already received nearly 40 bookings for the first six expeditions, which will run through July, and will depart from St. John in Newfoundland, Canada.
Among the people who will visit the Titanic, their ages range between 24 and 70 years and their countries of origin are mainly the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and China.
When they start, they will lead humans to the historic wreck for the first time in 15 years. There is room for five people per dive, of which two will be a crew: the other three will enjoy about six or eight hours of underwater adventure before returning to the central ship that will return them to port.
Stockton Rush, president of OceanGate, said he doesn’t want to turn the Unesco-protected Titanic into a tourist attraction. We are on an expedition ”.
This lightweight and aerodynamic carbon fiber submarine, Titan, can reach depths of 4,000 meters, the Titanic lies at 3,800 meters,
Titan’s first voyage happened in 2018: in a single viewing window, an eye more than 50 centimeters wide that earned the nickname Cyclops, two people could be located to make observations. It travels at a speed of three knots and descends at a rate of 55 meters per minute, thanks to the propulsion of four electric motors.
On board, the Titan is well lit and the internal pressure remains constant; Indoor air is recycled in a manner similar to that of spacecraft. Sandwiches and water are allowed, and there will be a small bathroom available ”, in the 90 minutes of descent.
Each mission will make three dives, in which passengers will be guided by a scientific researcher, while the pilot works on the Titan operation. They will take turns to observe through the only viewing window and when it is not their turn they will be able to enjoy views taken by the cameras and collaborate with the management of the sonar or laser scanner.
In addition to paying USD 125,000, “citizen scientists” will have to undergo an interview, since the group dynamics on an expedition is crucial:
Stockton Rush will be the pilot on one of every three dives. Expect a sad but not macabre experience: “There are no bodies left. There are boots and shoes and clothes that show us where people were 100 years ago, and that’s very bleak. ” More than 1,500 men, women, and children died in the 1912 disaster.
One of the objectives of the expeditions is the creation of a three-dimensional model of the shipwreck and the field in which the debris was spread, using multibeam sonar technology, laser scanning and photometry. In addition, the scientific team hopes to examine 300 unique species of marine creatures, mostly microbes.
