More people have walked on the Moon than have been to the ocean’s lowest point. The Mariana Trench imposes a tremendous challenge. Filmmaker and ocean enthusiast James Cameron has broken into the exclusive club with his March 25th solo descent.
The last manned exploration of the Challenger Deep, the Mariana Trench’s deepest location, was over fifty years ago on January 23, 1960. Jacques Piccard and Lieutenant Don Walsh reached the bottom of the trench in the bathyscaphe Trieste as part of Project Nekton.
The vertical design of the craft used by Cameron allows it to descend at a rapid rate, which means Cameron can spend more time, approximately six hours, at the bottom of the trench exploring and collecting samples.
