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The Inside Story of Virgin Oceanic's Mission To the Mariana Trench

Posted by samzenpus on from the inside-scoop dept.

the_newsbeagle writes "Millionaire adventurer Chris Welsh, the driving force behind Virgin Oceanic, wants to name his sub "Scarlett" after Scarlett Johansson—that's how sexy this vehicle is. Welsh plans to pilot the experimental, cutting-edge sub to the bottom of the Mariana Trench sometime this year, in what would be only the second human descent to the deepest spot in the world's oceans (the first trip down was in 1960). This inside account of the Virgin Oceanic mission describes a team fueled by ego, science, and derring-do, and explains how their high-tech sub could usher in a new kind of marine exploration. The article also tells the story of an adventure on the high seas last summer, when Welsh & co visited the trench to test some robotic deep-sea landers... and ran smack into a typhoon."

11 of 93 comments (clear)

  1. So, "cutting edge" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    is something that was already done in 1960?

  2. a team fueled by ego by amoeba1911 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Is that carbon neutral? Why haven't I seen cars that run on ego? It's some kind of government conspiracy to keep us dependent on oil. Roswell!

    1. Re:a team fueled by ego by nitehawk214 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Is that carbon neutral? Why haven't I seen cars that run on ego? It's some kind of government conspiracy to keep us dependent on oil. Roswell!

      Ego produces harmful clouds of smug, a far worse pollutant than CO2.

      --
      I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
  3. Better headline... by GodfatherofSoul · · Score: 4, Funny

    Scarlett to probe deep in Virgin trenches

    --
    I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
  4. Quite the euphemism there. by sethstorm · · Score: 4, Funny

    On Virgin's mission to the Mariana trench - will it be a gentle descent, or will they keep hammering the bottom?

    --
    Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
    1. Re:Quite the euphemism there. by vlm · · Score: 3, Funny

      ... and what creature of the deep surfaces 9 months later... Godzilla!

      --
      "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
  5. Re:Hey by amoeba1911 · · Score: 5, Funny

    No, they checked already in 1960, there is nothing but bottom dwelling invertebrates there too.

  6. somehow disappointing by Kvasio · · Score: 4, Funny

    somehow disappointing that in the story there are hyperlinks to various stuff, but "Scarlett Johansson" is just a plain text

  7. Chris Welsh is 14 years old? by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 2, Funny

    wants to name his sub "Scarlett" after Scarlett Johansson—that's how sexy this vehicle is

    So... not that sexy? Perhaps that's a bit rough - she's okay - but seriously?
    Offhand, I can easily think of several other women, and a couple of Italian motorcycles, that are way sexier. :-)

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  8. Re:marijuana trench by tnk1 · · Score: 3, Funny

    That's like, so totally deep.

  9. Re:Hey by giorgist · · Score: 4, Funny

    > No, they checked already in 1960, there is nothing but bottom dwelling invertebrates there too.

    lawyer convention ?

    <insert rim shot >