Director Cameron reaches bottom of Mariana Trench
"Titanic" director James Cameron reached the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean in his solo submarine, mission partner the National Geographic said Sunday.
The explorer and filmmaker reached a depth of 35,756 feet (10,898 meters) at 7:52 am Monday local time (2152 GMT Sunday) in his specially designed submersible, according to mission partner National Geographic.
Cameron's first words on reaching the bottom were "All systems OK," according to a mission statement
He planned to spend up to six hours on the Pacific Ocean sea floor, collecting samples for scientific research and taking still photographs and moving images.
His goal is to become the first human to visit the ocean's deepest point in more than 50 years, and to bring back data and specimens. He was expected to take 3D images that could help scientists better understand the unexplored part of the earth.
The submersible that Cameron designed, a "vertical torpedo" of sorts, already successfully completed an unpiloted dive on Friday.
(c) 2012 AFP
