An aerial drone photo shows the Meng Xiang, China's first domestically designed and built deep-ocean drilling vessel, in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Nov. 17, 2024. The Meng Xiang, China's first domestically designed and built deep-ocean drilling vessel with a maximum drilling depth of 11 kilometers was officially commissioned in the southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou on Sunday, marking a significant stride to reach where humanity has never ventured before. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

The Meng Xiang, China's first domestically designed and built deep-ocean drilling vessel with a maximum drilling depth of 11 kilometers was officially commissioned in the southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou on Sunday, marking a significant stride to reach where humanity has never ventured before.

As China's largest scientific research vessel, the Meng Xiang measures 179.8 meters in length and 32.8 meters in width, with a displacement of 42,600 tonnes. It boasts a range of 15,000 nautical miles, a self-supportability for 120 days, and a capacity to accommodate 180 people.

"The deep-earth core samples it retrieves will provide global scientists with direct evidence to study plate tectonics, oceanic crust evolution, ancient marine climates, and the evolution of life," said Xu Zhenqiang, director of Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey under China Geological Survey. "It will aid humanity in better understanding, protecting, and utilizing the oceans."

The vessel is the first in the world to integrate functions such as deep-ocean scientific drilling, oil and gas exploration, and natural gas hydrate investigation and trial extraction. After two rounds of sea trials, its key performance indicators exceeded design expectations, according to Zhang Haibin, chief designer of the Meng Xiang.

It is equipped with the world's first hydraulic lifting rig capable of both oil and gas exploration and core sampling, with a top drive lifting capacity of 907 tonnes. It supports four drilling modes and three coring methods, fulfilling diverse operational needs such as deep-ocean coring and deep-sea resource exploration.

The vessel also features nine advanced laboratories, covering areas such as geology, geochemistry, microbiology, ocean science, and drilling technology. It also includes the world's first automated shipborne core sample storage system which supports marine research.

Designed to meet the safety standards for super typhoons, it can operate normally in rough sea conditions and is capable of global missions in unrestricted waters.

Traditionally, human activities and scientific exploration have been limited to the Earth's crust, which averages 15 kilometers in thickness. Beneath the crust lies the mantle, a crucial layer linking the surface to the core. The commission of the Meng Xiang marks a significant stride for humanity to reach or even break through the boundary between the crust and mantle, known as the Mohorovicic discontinuity, or Moho.