The grandson of Jacques-Yves Cousteau spent months underwater
Famous underwater explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau lot of attention to the development, which would allow people to live on the seabed. The project «Conshelf Two» six researchers spent a month in the submarine base on the bottom of the Red Sea. This experiment is described in Cousteau documentary "World Without Sun." Possibility of long-term life under water and interested researchers grandson Fabien Cousteau, who also devoted his life to study the oceans. Within the project "Mission 31", he plans to spend 31 days in an underwater laboratory "Aquarius", working under the auspices of the University of Florida. The laboratory was established back in 1986. It is located at a depth of 20 meters in National Marine Sanctuary in the Florida Keys in the Gulf of Mexico.
"Mission 31" was launched on June 1. Fabien Cousteau and his two colleagues will always be in the "Aquarius". Also in the project will involve four other researchers and two underwater camera operator, but in the laboratory room there is only room for three of them, so they will change each other. "Cross-cutting theme of our mission - it's unbreakable bond with the ocean person, through which we view prism of exploration and discovery, "- said Cousteau. Everyday aquanauts will spend six to nine hours to the study of the ocean depths and experiments outside the base ship.
The entire course of the expedition will be broadcast live to the general public. According to Cousteau, the crew will also collect material for a future documentary. In addition, during his stay under water aquanauts will study the physiological and psychological effects of long-term diving that will be useful not only marine biologists, but also to future space travelers.
Also unusual conditions insulation will help to better understand how this environment affects the progress and health researchers. Start of the expedition is timed to the 50th anniversary of the experiment Continental Ice Shelf Station Two: when Jacques-Yves Cousteau organized a 30-day undersea mission, during which six oceanographers lived in the underwater base beneath the surface of the Red Sea. It was one of the first attempts to build an underwater lab and provide scientists with round the clock access to the subject of their research. If Fabien manage to beat the record of his grandfather, the Mission 31 will be the longest in the history of underwater research expedition.
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