Meet the Deep Sea Explorers

The deepest reaches of the sea  still hold many mysteries.  Learn more about the intrepid  explorers who plumb the  ocean depths.

London

Fun fact: Nobody knows  exactly how Drebbel’s  submarine worked. It baffled  scientists at the time, and it  still baffles us today.

X

Cornelis Drebbel (1572-1633) Deepest Point Reached:  about 15 feet Historians credit Cornelis  Drebbel with building the  first working submarine. It  operated with oars and  could carry about 16 people.  Drebbel piloted it through  the River Thames. King  James I was his patron.  (He funded Drebbel’s work.)  Drebbel even took King  James I on a submarine ride!

Jacques Cousteau (1910-1997) Deepest Point Reached: Unknown Jacque Cousteau served in World War  II as a French naval officer. But he’s  most known for his underwater  expeditions. He helped invent tools so  that scientists could explore the depths.  His most famous invention is the Aqua- Lung. This “self-contained underwater  breathing apparatus” (SCUBA for short)  allowed divers to go deeper than ever— without getting crushed.

Fun Fact: Mr. Cousteau is quoted as saying “The glory of nature provides evidence that God exists.”

Indian Ocean

Fun fact: Piccard’s son, Bertrand Piccard, copiloted the first non-stop balloon flight around the Earth. Adventure runs in the family!

The Trieste

Challenger Deep of Mariana Trench

Jacques Piccard (1922-2008) and Don Walsh (1931-2023) Deepest Point Reached: 35,814 feet Jacques Piccard was an oceanographer  from Switzerland. His helped his  father, Auguste Piccard, create the  bathyscaphe. This invention opened up  new depths for exploration. The U.S.  Navy bought Piccard’s bathyscaphe,  the Trieste. Lieutenant Don Walsh and  Jacques Piccard took Trieste deeper  than any explorers had gone before.  They reached the Challenger Deep in  the Mariana Trench in 1960. That’s the  deepest known point in the world.

Fun fact: Ballard was inspired to become a deep sea explorer by seeing the 1954 movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Titanic wreckage site

Robert Ballard (1942-present) Deepest Point Reached:  about 20,000 feet Underwater exploration isn’t just  about going deep. Sometimes  it’s about discovery. In 1985,  Robert Ballard did what many  undersea explorers had tried  and failed to do. He found the  wreckage of Titanic. Ballard  designed and piloted his own  submersible called Argo. He has  also discovered other famous  shipwrecks, such as the World  War II submarine Bismarck.

This jellyfish was seen in the Mariana Trench. (NOAA)

James Cameron (1954-present) Deepest Point Reached: 35,787 feet James Cameron directed three of the five most money-making films in history. But he doesn’t break only box office records. His journey into the Mariana Trench set a new world record in 2012. He piloted a submersible called Deepsea Challenger. This was the first solo expedition to the bottom of the Trench. He also helped develop new technologies for ocean exploration.

Fun Fact: James Cameron quit his job as a truck driver and started making films after seeing Star Wars in 1977.