Members of the record-breaking crew from the Institute of Acoustics, Chinese Academy of Sciences of China's Jiaolong manned submersible were welcomed back with a letter from President BAI Chunli of CAS, who hailed their great success in the sea trials and bid greetings to the sub’s researchers, developers and oceanauts from IACAS.
"Institute of Acoustics develops innovative researches in the light of national strategies and contributes greatly in marking a giant leap for China’s deep-sea exploration technology,” according to BAI.
During the 16 days, the acoustic systems designed and integrated by our institute were in good working condition, providing a strong guarantee for the success in the sea trials. Wherein, the underwater acoustic communication system and equipments gave an outstanding performance in all the trials, which guaranteed the real-time communications between the mother ship and the sub. Sounds, images, letters and other signals instantaneously transferred were clear and communications were smooth. All of these played an indispensable role throughout.
Our institute’s sea trial crew led by Researcher ZHU Min was brave, persevered and wise, having contributed greatly for the success.
The sub, named after a mythical dragon, made record dives of more than 7,000 meters below sea level in the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench during 16 days.
Jiaolong completed six dives and plummeted below 7,000 meters three times, with the greatest depth being 7,062.68 meters.
It also surveyed the undersea landscape and collected geological and biological samples. Through the program, oceanauts and scientists have explored the underwater geological structure and discovered 11 new species.
The operation team and the temporary Party committee of the Jiaolong sent a letter of thanks, thanking IACAS and his research crew for their great contribution.
With the successful trial dives, it proved that China’s first manned sub had made significant technological breakthrough, enabling China to join the ranks of deep-sea faring countries. The breakthrough of diving deeper than 7,000 meters will enable China to conduct deep-sea scientific research and resources exploration in 99.8 percent of the world's oceans.