Diving deeper into the sea

Though water covers over 70 per cent of the Earth, the sea is as much of a mystery as the Moon

On June 07, the Limiting Factor, a specialised submersible vehicle, reached the bottom of Challenger Deep. This is in the Pacific Ocean and the deepest known place. The two-person crew was Dr Kathryn (Kathy) Sullivan and Naval Commander (Retd.) Victor Vescovo.

Sullivan is the eighth person, and the first woman to reach these depths. The 68-year-old geologist has an incredible resume. She is the former Chief Scientist of America’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the only person to have space-walked and visited the Pacific bottom.  She was the first American woman to space-walk, during three stints on the Space