The Deep

It was believed that humans couldn't reach the bottom of the earth's oceans. This was true until 3 years ago. Explorer Victor Vescovo, a retired naval officer and under sea explorer, has successfully dived to the depths of the deepest parts of all 5 oceans. He is the first human in history to do so repeatedly. With his team “The Five Deeps Expedition,” they planned to reach the deepest locations of all 5 of Earth's oceans. This was seen as impossible because of the immeasurable pressure the oceans depths had to offer.

Vescovo spent approximately 4 and a half years developing a state-of-the-art deep submersible pod that could withstand the pressure, quite literally. The goal of its construction was to have the ability to do multiple deep sea expeditions where certain parts of the ocean can reach thousands of pounds of pressure compared to the surface. The result of such research and craftsmanship was the infamous “DSV Limiting Factor,'' which is widely considered the most advanced undersurface crewed pod in the world. This pod is a highly submersible pod with a placed guiding system. Previously, no manned vehicle has been able to do each expedition repeatedly. With The Limiting Factor they are now easily able to reach the lowest depths of the Sava, Puerto Rico and Sandwich Trees. Along with these expeditions, extreme deep diving opportunities were taken to dive at scientific points of interest alongside with historical importance.

Vescovo was well aware of the limited resources he had to work with, but for such drastic plans he needed the best, most sophisticated technology, and the best of engineers. Following the selection process to find the best applicants possible for the duties to come, Vescovo put together a team from all around the world, including specialists in every aspect needed to successfully complete a deep dive. Vescovo was the first man to ever visit The Molly Deep and the deepest point of Puerto Rico. Both of these dives were milestones in human piloted vessels. Vescovo was then awarded with the Explorers Club Medal, the highest accolade given out by the organization, in recognition of all that he has achieved across all of the planet's most extreme locations. One such location is the Challenger Deep, not only the deepest point in the Pacific Ocean, and also the deepest point on Earth. To give a sense of this area's massive depth, envision the world's tallest building “burj Khalifa” standing at 2,716 feet. Now stack 13 of them on top of one another. Even this monstrosity would still not break the surface if it was placed at the seabed of Challenger Deep.

A second expedition to Challenger Deep was led by Vescovo in June 2020, during which he was joined by a number of passengers, including Dr. Kathy Sullivan, over a series of dives. Dr. Sullivan is an ocean scientist, NASA astronaut, and former head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She accompanied Vescovo alongside other scientists involved. They used data from past explorations to make their calculations. As a result, they have confirmed that the Earth's deepest point is even deeper than it was believed to be. The data accumulated pertaining to the multiple series of dives that have been embarked upon has been intensely processed by hydrographic experts. With these calculations they have determined a precise depth of a whopping 10,934m. Vescovo has now made a total of eight dives into the Challenger Deep, more than any other individual.