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China's manned submersible "Jiaolong", boarding its support ship "Xiangyanghong-9", leaves a port in Jiangyin, east China's Jiangsu province, June 10, 2013, starting a voyage of experimental application. (Xinhua/Ding Xiaochun).
China's manned submersible Jiaolong, aboard its support ship Xiangyanghong-9, left a port in Jiangyin, east China's Jiangsu Province on Monday, for its first voyage of experimental application.
During the 103-day mission, the sub will submerge for scientific research in the South China Sea, the northeast Pacific Ocean and the west Pacific.
Jiaolong set a new dive record after reaching 7,062 meters deep in the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench in June 2012, demonstrating China's ability to conduct deep-sea scientific research and resource exploration in 99.8 percent of the world's oceans.
However, Jiaolong is not yet ready for regular operation, according to the State Oceanic Administration (SOA).
The mission will mark the start of a five-year trial period for the Jiaolong before it starts regular operation.
This mission will focus on scientific research, rather than pursuing a greater depth of diving.
For the first time scientists will be on board, with 14 of them qualified for diving. Each submerge will have two aquanauts and one scientist on board.
During the first period of the mission, Jiaolong will conduct experiments on its positioning system, as well as deep-sea ecological and geological surveys in the South China Sea. It will return to Xiamen afterwards.
The second period will see Jiaolong carrying out a number of tasks, including a biological survey, geological sampling and deep-sea photography in the northeast Pacific Ocean.
During the third period, Jiaolong will conduct research on cobalt-rich crusts in the northwest Pacific.
One of the scientists is from Hong Kong. Qiu Jianwen, a scholar of ocean bio-diversity and fishing resource protection, with Hong Kong Baptist University said, "This is a precious opportunity for me, because we had no chance to obtain deep-sea biological samples. The samples we have were retrieved by divers from seas near Hong Kong."
Li Xinzheng, a researcher on biological community of the seabed, with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, expressed similar feelings.
He said, "Our previous samples were strenuously sorted out from soil at the bottom of the sea. With Jiaolong, we can get samples precisely and study the genetic characteristics that enable deep-sea living beings to resist high pressure and low temperature."
Liu Feng, the chief commander of the trial mission, said although the scientists have received training, whether they can dive with Jiaolong depends on whether the conditions are adequate.
For Jiaolong to play a greater role in deep-sea scientific research, relevant supporting facilities are under construction, including a national deep-sea base in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, a new supporting ship and a new manned submersible.
