In January of 1960, oceanographer Jacques Piccard and U.S. Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh descended into the Mariana Trench aboard a specially designed deep-sea submersible called the Trieste. The objective was to reach Challenger Deep within the Mariana Trench, which is recognized as Earth’s deepest known underwater region. According to NOAA Ocean Exploration, Challenger Deep extends to almost 11 kilometers below the ocean's surface, equivalent to nearly seven miles. Pressure levels in such regions are extremely high and exceed more than a thousand times the normal atmospheric pressure at sea level.
The Trieste, on the other hand, was a unique type of submersible called a bathyscaphe that could explore the deep ocean floor. It was not like typical submarines, as it used gasoline to create a floating chamber, while its crew occupied a spherical cabin made of metal that could withstand high pressure. During their descent into the Mariana Trench, sunlight was no longer visible, and the explorers were exposed to extremely low temperatures in a virtually enclosed and isolated environment.
