Project Samudrayaan

Indian scientists are gearing up for an ambitious project called Samudrayaan, which involves sending three people 6,000 meters underwater in a domestically developed submersible named Matsya 6000.
This mission aims to explore the ocean depths of precious metals and minerals such as cobalt, nickel, and manganese.

Matsya 6000 is a domestically developed submersible for deep-sea exploration.
It has been in development for nearly two years.
The submersible will undergo its first sea trials in the Bay of Bengal off the Chennai coast in early 2024.
Its design has been meticulously reviewed, considering materials, testing, certification, redundancy, and standard operating procedures.
The submersible’s design includes a 2.1-meter diameter sphere made of 80mm-thick titanium alloy, capable of withstanding the immense pressure at 6,000 meters depth (600 times greater than sea level pressure).
It is designed to operate continuously for 12 to 16 hours and has a 96-hour oxygen supply.

Mission Samudrayaan is part of the Deep Ocean Mission in India.
Sea trials at a depth of 500 meters are planned for the first quarter of 2024.
The full realization of the mission is expected by 2026.
It aims to explore the ocean depths for precious metals and minerals such as cobalt, nickel, and manganese.
India joins a select group of countries, including the US, Russia, Japan, France, and China, that have developed manned submersibles.
In addition to mineral exploration, Matsya 6000 will investigate the chemosynthetic biodiversity in hydrothermal vents and low-temperature methane seeps in the ocean.

AMIGOS IAS