As part of the Deep Ocean expedition, the Indian crewed deep-submergence vehicle Matsya 6000 will be used to explore the deep oceans for rare minerals. The vehicle, which is currently in development, would be made of a titanium alloy sphere with a diameter of 2.1 metres and an 80mm thickness that could endure 600 bar of pressure.
Matsya 6000, India’s Deep Sea Submersible!
Next is “Samudrayaan”
This is ‘MATSYA 6000’ submersible under construction at National Institute of Ocean Technology at Chennai. India’s first manned Deep Ocean Mission ‘Samudrayaan’ plans to send 3 humans in 6-km ocean depth in a submersible, to study the deep sea resources and… pic.twitter.com/aHuR56esi7— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) September 11, 2023
On Monday, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju tweeted a video and pictures of the manned submersible Matsya 6000. It is a part of the “Samudrayaan” programme which will explore the ocean’s depths. The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), in Chennai, is creating the vessel.
This will be India’s first human ocean exploration mission whenever it is put into service. In fact, aquanauts will be able to travel on the spherical vehicle up to 6,000 metres under the water. The first underwater excursion, however, will only be 500 metres long. According to Mr Rijiju, the mission won’t affect the marine habitat.
His tweet reads that “Samudrayaan” is up next mission and “MATSYA 6000” is a submersible being built at Chennai’s National Institute of Ocean Technology. Three people will be sent on India’s first manned deep ocean mission, Samudrayaan, in a submersible to research deep-sea resources and assess marine biodiversity.
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Blue Economy And Deep Ocean Mission
The Deep Ocean Mission, according to Mr Rijiju, supports the ‘Blue Economy’, a vision of PM Narendra Modi. It envisages sustainable utilisation of ocean resources for the economic growth of the country, improvement of livelihoods and employment, and preservation of ocean ecosystem health. The minister can be seen sitting inside the still-under-construction yacht in a video posted with the article. Moreover, a professional is seen describing to Mr Rijiju the features and operation of Matsya 6000.
Deep Ocean Mission, also known as the Samudrayaan programme, is an Indian initiative to conduct deep ocean exploration with an emphasis on India’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zones. Numerous crewed and uncrewed submersibles will explore the ocean floor as part of the programme. Exploration and extraction of polymetallic nodules, which are made up of minerals, is one of the mission’s main objectives. The minerals include manganese, nickel, cobalt, copper, and iron hydroxide.
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The metals can be utilised to make solar panels, batteries, smartphones, and technological equipment.
Cover Image Courtesy: @KirenRijiju/ X