Jiaolong refreshed national dive record by reaching 7,000 meters

 

Three Chinese oceanauts pose before conducting the 7,000-meter dive below the surface of the Pacific Ocean aboard Xiangyanghong 09, June 24, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]

ABOARD XIANGYANGHONG 09 - Chinese oceanauts refreshed the country's dive record in a manned submersible by going deeper than 7,000 meters beneath the sea after a successful test dive in the Pacific Ocean Sunday morning.

The Jiaolong, China's manned submersible named after a mythical sea dragon, succeeded in diving 7,015 meters below sea level at around 11 am local time during its fourth dive into the Mariana Trench.

The dive started at 7 am local time Sunday in heavy rain.

The three oceanauts, namely Ye Cong, Liu Kaizhou and Yang Bo, sent greetings from the bottom of the blue sea to the three astronauts who are expected to conduct a manual docking of the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft with the orbiting Tiangong-1 lab module.

"We wish for a great success of the manual docking and brilliant achievements in China's manned space and manned deep-sea dive causes," said the oceanauts.

The oceanauts had succeeded in reaching the depths of 6,671, 6,965 and 6,963 meters in their previous three dives from June 15 to 22, well surpassing the record of 5,188 meters last July.

"It has been proved during the four times of dive that the submersible is stable in function and the capabilities of the team performing the test dives are rising gradually," said on-scene commander Liu Feng.

China's manned submersible, Jiaolong, is lifted before its fourth dive, the world's first 7,000-meter dive below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, in the Mariana Trench, June 24, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]

 

Chinese oceanaut Liu Kaizhou prepares before conducting the 7,000-meter dive below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, June 24, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]