China's manned submersible sets diving record

Sci-Tech

China's new deep-sea manned submersible Fendouzhe, or "Striver", set a new diving record of 10,058 meters on Oct 27 while approaching the Challenger Deep, a 11,000-meter chasm located at the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean, according to China Central Television.

chinadaily.com.cnUpdated: November 10, 2020

China's new deep-sea manned submersible Fendouzhe, or "Striver", set a new diving record of 10,058 meters on Oct 27 while approaching the Challenger Deep, a 11,000-meter chasm located at the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean, according to China Central Television. 

A screenshot from CCTV shows China's new deep-sea manned submersible Fendouzhe, or Striver. [Photo/CCTV]


The submersible will attempt another dive into the world's deepest known point on Tuesday. Last month, Fendouzhe made its maiden journey to the Marina Trench onboard its mother ship, Exploration 2.

Fendouzhe is the world's deepest-diving manned submersible, capable of carrying up to three passengers to conduct scientific research in the deep sea. The instrument is electrically powered and can operate for around 10 hours underwater.

Almost all the vehicle's technologies and instruments were developed by Chinese researchers, according to the China Ship Scientific Research Center.

In June 2012, China's first deep-sea manned submersible, named after the mythical sea dragon Jiaolong, set China's previous diving record by plunging 7,062 meters down the Mariana Trench.

Shenhai Yongshi ("deep-sea warrior"), China's second deep-sea manned submersible, is able to dive to a depth of 4,500 meters.