China's manned deep-sea submersible Jiaolong made a second dive into the big blue sea at the Mariana Trench on Tuesday morning.

The dive started at 7 a.m. local time (2100 GMT Monday), after the leaking oil pipe of its hydraulic system had been repaired.

After YANG Bo, ZHANG Dongsheng from IACAS assumes the second dive task in Mariana Trench.

The main task for the second dive is to test whether flaws have been fixed.

The three sea drivers will stay and work in the water for ten hours in this second dive and the diving depth will be as close as possible to 7,000 meters or could even reach as far as the sea bed.

At 7 a.m., photos were returned at the depth of 4,500 meters for the first time through digital underwater acoustic system, revealing some parts of the submersible sampling column.

As reported in the China Ocean News, the depth of China's manned deep-sea submersible Jiaolong in this second dive is increasing: 6,926 meters, 6,934 meters, 6,940 meters, 6,962 meters and 6,965 meters fixed at this depth below the sea till now.

Jiaolong has already set the country’s dive record of 6,671 meters below the sea in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean.

The planned second dive is highly dependant on local weather conditions.

A successful dive to 7,000 meters would mean the manned deep-sea submersible is capable of diving to the bottom of 99.8 percent of the world’s ocean surface.

China's manned deep-sea submersible Jiaolong is put into water to make a second dive into the sea at the Mariana Trench on June 19, 2012. 

(Source: Xinhuanet)