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00:00:08,040 --> 00:00:10,040
This is a world first.

2
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It's never been done before.
This is a prototype vehicle.

3
00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:15,040
It's never been operated before.

4
00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:18,360
This full-ocean-depth submersible
is the equivalent of a moon shot.

5
00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:21,920
Look at the clarity of the water.

6
00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:26,080
What the hell was that?
We have at least four species here.

7
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Whoa. Whoa.

8
00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:29,560
Whoa, whoa, whoa.

9
00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:37,600
We're not getting a seal.
That's not good

10
00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:46,840
Humankind has explored
every continent on Earth.

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We've climbed its tallest mountains.

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And even journeyed into space.

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Thank you, Mr President.

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But there's a vast swathe of our own
planet that has remained a mystery.

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The deep ocean.

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Stretching down over 35,000 feet
into crushing pressures,

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it's been near impossible to reach.

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Until now.

19
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New engineering breakthroughs
are driving an audacious
global mission

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to dive to the deepest points
of all of the five oceans

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for the first time in history.

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These pioneers will push
the technology to the limit...

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He's going up. (LAUGHS)
(CHEERING)

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..to open up
this final frontier as never before.

25
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Trying to mentally put yourself at
the bottom is just mind-blowing.

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Mapping hidden landscapes.

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Discovering unknown life forms.

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What on earth is that?

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And unlocking the secrets

30
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of how life in the extreme deep
ocean affects our entire planet.

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The Deep Ocean expedition team
are at the very beginning

32
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of a year-long mission.

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They will head to each
of the five oceans,

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discover their deepest points
and explore their uncharted depths.

35
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Remarkably, this complex operation
is being driven and financed

36
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by one man
with a hugely ambitious dream.

37
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Ex-naval commander and
multimillionaire investor

38
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Victor Vescovo.

39
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The exciting thing
about the expedition

40
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is the possibility of
opening up the oceans

41
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and they do constitute
70% of the world.

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Victor has already completed

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what is known as
the Explorer's Grand Slam,

44
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climbing the tallest peak
on each continent

45
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and skiing to North and South Poles.

46
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Now he's bidding to be the first
to conquer a new frontier.

47
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I was just curious, I've always
wanted to do something

48
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that has never been done before
and then it hit me.

49
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No-one has actually been
to the bottom of the five oceans.

50
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The team's first ocean
is one of the most volatile

51
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and unpredictable of all.

52
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The mighty Atlantic.

53
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Covering an extraordinary
fifth of the Earth's surface,

54
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it generates some of

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the most powerful
natural hazards on the planet.

56
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From the kind of deadly icebergs
that sank the Titanic

57
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to devastating hurricanes.

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And the Atlantic's unexplored depths
hold enormous dangers of their own.

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00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:51,160
On average,
the Atlantic stretches down

60
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around 11,000 feet.

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But the team are now arriving
just off the island of Puerto Rico,

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where a mysterious trench is
thought to plunge to a staggering

63
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27,500 feet.

64
00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:07,720
Enough to hold 22
Empire State Buildings

65
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stacked on top of each other.

66
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The pressure at such great depths is
immense.

67
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The equivalent for a human body
to be crushed beneath

68
00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:19,640
2,500 pick-up trucks.

69
00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:25,040
For Victor to get there
will be a massive challenge.

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00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:28,520
Any ordinary submarine
would simply implode.

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So Victor has commissioned
a radical new design.

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A prototype sub
that today is being launched

73
00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:38,960
on a crucial test dive
to prove its readiness

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00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:41,040
for an assault on the Trench itself.

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00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:45,440
This is the most advanced
deep-sea submersible in history.
At this point.

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00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:50,120
The sub's builder is Patrick Lahey,

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whose team have spent
the last three and a half years

78
00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:56,560
designing and constructing
this engineering wonder.

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This full-ocean-depth submersible
is the equivalent of a moon shot

80
00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:04,880
and it has been the most difficult
undertaking of my life.

81
00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:11,400
To combat the enormous pressures
at the bottom of the ocean,

82
00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:14,960
the sub has at its core
a perfect sphere,

83
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made of lightweight titanium.

84
00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:20,440
Any imperfection and it would be
crushed like a tin can.

85
00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:26,080
The construction of the sphere
had to be incredibly precise.

86
00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:30,720
Each half was forged separately
in the US...

87
00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:36,360
..machined to add super-wide-angle
viewports and an access hatch,

88
00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,560
then shipped to a test facility
in Russia

89
00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:42,480
that once certified Cold War subs,

90
00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:45,840
home to the only pressure chamber
in the world big enough.

91
00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:51,440
Finally, the sphere was assembled
inside a streamlined casing.

92
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In we go.

93
00:05:58,280 --> 00:06:00,280
Alrighty.

94
00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:06,240
All right. Here we are, inside
the deep submergence vehicle.

95
00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:08,120
Limiting Factor.

96
00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:11,480
So, the first and most noticeable
thing are the oxygen tanks

97
00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:14,680
that are right above us,
that are carbon fibre and titanium.

98
00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:17,760
They allow for four days
of oxygen supply.

99
00:06:17,840 --> 00:06:20,640
You want to keep the oxygen at
about 21%.

100
00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:24,520
Anything significantly above
that could create a fire risk,

101
00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:27,840
because of all these electronics,
that's the most dangerous thing

102
00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:32,160
about a submersible like this
is the risk of a fire of some kind.

103
00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:33,840
We want it to be perfect.

104
00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:37,880
So we're constantly working
on the submersible. We're very safe.

105
00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:41,320
So we will call off a dive,
if there's any issue whatsoever.

106
00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:43,520
I have, right here, my alarm panel.

107
00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:46,720
So, if something is going wrong,
I'll get a little chirping sound.

108
00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:51,280
Then my next objective is coming
back to all the electrical panels

109
00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:54,000
that you see behind me,
these are the circuit-breakers.

110
00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:56,080
This is how we power up
the submersible.

111
00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:59,760
It shows me the volts that are
going through the different systems.

112
00:06:59,840 --> 00:07:02,320
It shows me
what's on and what's not on.

113
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I can't really fix anything in here.
What I can do is shut them off.

114
00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:09,400
When you are in the business of
building this type of
equipment,

115
00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:12,920
the thing you're most interested in,
"Is it working properly?"

116
00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:15,560
As a group, we will continue
to focus on making sure

117
00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:19,240
that the sub always does
the things that Victor needs it to.

118
00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:21,880
So, in the centre column,
the most obvious thing

119
00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:24,160
is the joystick control
for the thrusters.

120
00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:25,960
There are ten different thrusters.

121
00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:28,200
Whatever inputs I make
to the joystick

122
00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:30,120
are translated into
where I want to go

123
00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:32,320
and it moves the thrusters
in that direction.

124
00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:35,680
Up and down with this
thumb control. I can go sideways.

125
00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:39,280
I can actually translate left or
right or go forward or backward.

126
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So it's a really great tool.

127
00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:44,160
It's designed after a joystick
that's in fighter jet aircraft.

128
00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,040
All the different components
come from very many suppliers.

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00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:51,240
Everybody thinks they have
a device rated to work in
all these different conditions.

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00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:53,520
The issue is no-one has ever
fully tested

131
00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:55,720
these devices in those conditions.

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00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:59,840
These are very long distances.
We're talking eight kilometres
of water.

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We have the three acrylic viewports.

134
00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:05,000
This is designed to go down to
full-ocean depth.

135
00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:07,560
The pressure is extraordinary,

136
00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:10,640
so you can't have
very large apertures,

137
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because it would weaken
the structure.

138
00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:16,280
In fact, the three portals we have
have been specially designed,

139
00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:19,960
so they actually flex under
the pressure and they shrink

140
00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:22,920
almost a quarter of an inch
when they go to full-ocean depth.

141
00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:26,800
This is very, very hard acrylic,
so you can imagine
the intense pressure.

142
00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:30,800
We also have our control panel
for communications on the sides.

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00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:34,000
When I'm trying to talk to the
surface, I'll be wearing a headset.

144
00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:36,440
I can actually push the button
to talk.

145
00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:39,040
I'll probably be shouting
sometimes if I'm very deep.

146
00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:41,360
I need to amplify my voice
so they can hear it.

147
00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:44,720
Down here, we have a set of switches
that are an emergency system.

148
00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:46,840
So, if I am on the bottom

149
00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:49,760
and I've actually tried to release
my weights to go back up,

150
00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:51,600
if they don't come off,

151
00:08:51,680 --> 00:08:54,840
I can actually enable it
to eject parts of submersible

152
00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:57,520
and the submarine should go up.

153
00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:00,200
I have pretty high confidence
that things will go well.

154
00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:02,840
If they don't, you know,
I'll handle it.

155
00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:06,200
But the expedition isn't just about

156
00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:08,480
getting one man
to the bottom of the sea.

157
00:09:08,560 --> 00:09:10,560
The team are also hoping to solve

158
00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:13,840
some of the great mysteries
of life in the deep ocean.

159
00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:15,720
On the surface,

160
00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:19,000
the Atlantic is one of the most
varied habitats on Earth.

161
00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:23,640
The marine life of the Atlantic
is pretty
remarkable.

162
00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:26,280
From top predators,
like the great white shark,

163
00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:30,400
all the way to all the kinds of
tropical reef fishes, big or small,

164
00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:34,080
that many of us have seen
underwater with our own eyes.

165
00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:39,160
But what lurks beneath remains
a far more tantalising mystery.

166
00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:42,600
It's easier to explore space
than it is to explore
our own deep ocean.

167
00:09:42,680 --> 00:09:45,680
It's hard for us to communicate
through the water to vehicles.

168
00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:47,720
You also have the pressure.

169
00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:50,200
15,000lb per square inch.

170
00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:53,560
Animals have figured out a way
to overcome and adapt
to that pressure,

171
00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:56,240
but we have yet to do that
with our vehicle systems.

172
00:09:57,400 --> 00:09:59,800
Could this new sub be the answer?

173
00:09:59,880 --> 00:10:04,880
Being fitted to the exterior are a
set of highly specialised cameras,

174
00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:07,640
designed to bring back
the first ever footage

175
00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:09,920
from the deepest point
in the Atlantic Ocean.

176
00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:12,920
These are rated
to 11,000 metres.

177
00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:15,280
If it implodes,
it's like a small explosion

178
00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:17,720
and it can start a chain reaction.

179
00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:20,840
So, we want to make sure
that these housings are solid.

180
00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:22,720
You don't want any water
inside them.

181
00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:24,800
You don't want them
to implode, either.

182
00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:27,520
That's a lot of pressure
we're gonna be taking them to.

183
00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:31,600
The expedition's revolutionary
technology

184
00:10:31,680 --> 00:10:33,520
is about to be put to the test.

185
00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:36,200
Today's target is on a shelf

186
00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:39,760
perched precariously above
the deep Trench itself.

187
00:10:39,840 --> 00:10:42,440
The dive site today is
quite shallow.

188
00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:45,280
Get the sub in the water,
make sure it's behaving itself.

189
00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:49,400
It's deploying. That's good.
Up on the main.

190
00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:52,760
The mission is to make sure
that the sub is truly ready,

191
00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:56,760
because, tomorrow, Victor will be
extremely deep and on his own

192
00:10:56,840 --> 00:10:59,240
and there's no room for error.

193
00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:03,720
Here we go, guys. Whoo!

194
00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:07,480
Let's hope we have a nice,
uneventful ride.

195
00:11:07,560 --> 00:11:09,680
OK. Get that hatch open.

196
00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:11,760
I'm on. Got it.
All right, Victor.

197
00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:13,840
Have a good one, man.
I'm in!

198
00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:16,520
Hatch?
Hatch.

199
00:11:21,680 --> 00:11:24,160
Up! Up fast. Up fast!

200
00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:25,960
LF, LF, this is Surface.

201
00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:29,440
You are clear to dive.
Clear. Enabling thrusters.

202
00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:47,800
OK, if you've got the starboard
camera, I've got the port.

203
00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:49,480
Roger.

204
00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:57,200
Confirm the hatch is sealed.
Yeah.

205
00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:00,280
Just a dribble right there.

206
00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:05,560
I'm gonna hang on to it as we head
for the interface just to make sure.

207
00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:10,040
Ohh!

208
00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:14,800
Got a little water coming in
at the forward end of the hatch.

209
00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:20,840
You shouldn't have to do that.

210
00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:25,680
I'm not getting a seal.
That's not good.

211
00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:29,800
(BLEEP) This is getting really bad.

212
00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:31,840
(BLEEP) I can't get a seal.

213
00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:34,400
I'm trying to shut it off. OK?

214
00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:41,800
Surface, this is LF. Be advised
we have a leaking hatch.

215
00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:43,520
What did he say?
The hatch.

216
00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:45,640
Did you hear what he said?
He's got a leak.

217
00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:56,160
Before taking on the deepest
point in the Atlantic,

218
00:12:56,240 --> 00:12:59,440
the expedition team have launched
their prototype sub

219
00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:01,520
on a crucial test dive.

220
00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:05,760
This is LF. We have a leaking hatch.
We are aborting.

221
00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:07,680
"We are aborting.

222
00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:11,040
I'm gonna go ahead
and drop the weights."

223
00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:14,000
LF, Xeno copies.
"Releasing starboard weight."

224
00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:18,480
The weight is off.

225
00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:24,360
Surface, this is LF.
Requesting pick-up.

226
00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:27,600
The only thing we could do
under the circumstances was abort.

227
00:13:27,680 --> 00:13:30,400
Yeah, I agree. We're not going down
with water coming in

228
00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:32,160
so fast we can't control it.

229
00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:37,280
So, they've aborted the dive.
We'll bring it back on

230
00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:39,720
and try and figure
out what's going on there.

231
00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:45,720
PAUL: That's the only danger
in a sub is a leak. You know?

232
00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:47,800
In deep water, uh,

233
00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:51,840
you don't have the time to think
about that, you are dead already!

234
00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:55,320
Back on the surface,
and the team face a new challenge.

235
00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:57,120
The waves have picked up,

236
00:13:57,200 --> 00:13:59,680
putting the recovery process
under intense pressure.

237
00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:01,560
OK, let's get that one tagline on.

238
00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:04,840
We are missing a tagline
off one side.

239
00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:09,720
You want to do it or not do it?

240
00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:11,400
Let's do it. See if we can.

241
00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:13,480
Come forward. Come forward.

242
00:14:13,560 --> 00:14:15,760
Come ahead. Come ahead.

243
00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:24,960
Whoa!
Whoa.

244
00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:29,480
Victor. Here, Victor.

245
00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:39,560
You never want to be
in between anything,

246
00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:42,440
when you're on the surface
of the vessel, even a small boat

247
00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:46,040
and a submersible, because
you can get hit pretty hard.

248
00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:50,120
The Atlantic Ocean has given
the team some harsh lessons.

249
00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:52,000
A really disappointing dive.

250
00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:54,200
We were getting water ingress
from the hatch,

251
00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:56,280
which we shouldn't have had

252
00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:57,960
and it was just too much.

253
00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:01,600
But, if this was easy,
somebody else would
have done it long before.

254
00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:04,040
We're gonna run out of
daylight today.

255
00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:09,520
Let's get her in the hangar.

256
00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:13,400
The hatch is an issue.
Got to figure out how to do that.

257
00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:19,240
With the sub crew under huge
pressure to make precision repairs
to the hatch,

258
00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:22,640
the sonar scanning team
are beginning their search

259
00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:25,200
for the deepest point
in the Atlantic Ocean.

260
00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:27,480
The expedition ship is
newly fitted out

261
00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:29,760
with a cutting-edge,
echo-sounding system

262
00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:32,240
that's one of the most powerful
in the world.

263
00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:34,800
This is a brand-new system
and it is the first time

264
00:15:34,880 --> 00:15:38,360
that this system has been installed
anywhere in the world on any vessel.

265
00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:41,440
By bouncing an 11-mile-wide beam

266
00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:44,720
of sound waves off the ocean floor,
the team are building

267
00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:49,360
a remarkably detailed 3D map
of this vast underwater canyon.

268
00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:54,600
The team are also on the look-out
for hidden risks

269
00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:57,800
in what is, in fact,
a geological danger zone.

270
00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:01,480
The Puerto Rico Trench
is an active seismic zone.

271
00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:03,680
There are a number of earthquakes

272
00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:06,280
that have their epicentres
in this region.

273
00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:08,760
The Trench is a collision zone

274
00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:11,760
between two of the Earth's giant
tectonic plates.

275
00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:14,120
One grinds down beneath the other,

276
00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:17,600
heading into the boiling magma
of the Earth's core.

277
00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:21,000
The plates' downward fold

278
00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:24,080
is what forms the deep
Puerto Rico Trench.

279
00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:27,480
That interaction of the plates
generates lots of earthquakes.

280
00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:29,560
Some days, you can get 40, 50.

281
00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:32,120
And you never know when a large

282
00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:34,280
or a very large earthquake
could occur.

283
00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:37,960
Scientists predict
that a massive earthquake

284
00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:40,880
here in the future
will trigger a deadly tsunami,

285
00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:44,160
with enough force to strike
the east coast of America.

286
00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:48,200
The expedition is hoping
to gain new insights

287
00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:50,280
into this volatile danger zone

288
00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:52,880
by bringing back rock
and sediment samples

289
00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:55,160
from the very bottom of the Trench.

290
00:16:56,240 --> 00:17:00,080
But all now depends on fixing
the leaking hatch and the sub team

291
00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:03,640
are working through the night
to find a way to repair it.

292
00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:07,120
I just machined a quarter
of a millimetre off the bottom.

293
00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:09,400
All right, I'll jump in there
and put 'em in.

294
00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:13,680
I'm gonna go ahead. Want me to
close your hatch? I'll get it. OK.

295
00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,000
All right. Here we go.

296
00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:25,240
It's just coming up
to your hatch vent now.

297
00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:33,200
Just lapping over
your hatch vent now.

298
00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:34,880
(LAUGHS)

299
00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:38,040
It's all good, man.
I got nothing in here so far.

300
00:17:38,120 --> 00:17:40,480
How about that?
A quarter of a millimetre did it.

301
00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:44,000
The sub crew are all set
for a second attempt

302
00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:45,960
at a sign-off test dive.

303
00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:52,320
It's 6am and the expedition ship is
alive with activity.

304
00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:54,680
As well as making the sub dives,

305
00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:57,560
a key part of the mission
is to search for life

306
00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:00,480
in the unexplored reaches
of the Trench.

307
00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:02,560
Much is known of the wildlife

308
00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:05,000
visible near the surface
of the Atlantic.

309
00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:09,960
Like these curious visitors,
a pod of pilot whales.

310
00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:15,080
They spend most of their time
in a narrow band

311
00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:19,160
at the very top of the water column
called the Sunlight Zone,

312
00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:22,520
where enough light filters down
for plants to grow,

313
00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:25,440
which, in turn, sustain
a rich food chain.

314
00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:32,000
But what creatures live
far below, in the dark depths?

315
00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:35,120
How do they deal
with the pitch black?

316
00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:38,200
And the crushing pressures?
And what do they feed on?

317
00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:41,920
In search of answers,
the marine biologists

318
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:44,400
are deploying robotic
underwater probes

319
00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:47,360
known as "landers",
which will sink to the sea floor.

320
00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:50,520
These are the traps.
Two on the inside.

321
00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:53,520
Baited traps will try
and catch samples

322
00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:55,800
of anything living at the bottom.

323
00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:58,640
There are two cameras on the lander.
One facing this side.

324
00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:02,360
There is one on the other side,
focused at a package
of mackerel bait,

325
00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:05,520
for looking at scavenging fish
and the big mobile animals.

326
00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:08,920
It's incredibly exciting
to get to areas

327
00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:11,440
we wouldn't normally get
the chance to, to get some

328
00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:14,880
high-quality footage of the animals
we have a feeling are down there.

329
00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:19,000
The sub team are also making
their final pre-dive checks,

330
00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:22,280
testing out a component
Victor will use to bring back

331
00:19:22,360 --> 00:19:24,320
further vital samples from the deep.

332
00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:27,760
A $300,000 manipulator arm.

333
00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:31,520
We have the hand controller
for the manipulator arm.

334
00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:33,400
You're clear to come straight up.

335
00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:38,760
The slave arm duplicates.

336
00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:41,840
It looks good.
I think it'll be fine.

337
00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:47,680
At last, the team are ready
to relaunch their prototype sub.

338
00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:54,120
Heading once more for the flat shelf
over 3,000 feet down,

339
00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:56,480
on the edge of the deep Trench.

340
00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:00,560
First, they launch
the robotic probes.

341
00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:07,320
Then the sub.

342
00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:09,960
Right, LF. You're clear to dive.

343
00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:12,480
Clear to dive. Starting to pump in.

344
00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:14,760
Good luck.

345
00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:18,640
Everything is looking good. Didn't
have a drop of water come in.

346
00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:26,600
Beyond 600 feet and the sub enters

347
00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:29,160
the pitch black
of the Twilight Zone,

348
00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:32,680
where sunlight barely penetrates
and temperatures plunge.

349
00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:37,960
What is amazing is that so many
animals have found a way

350
00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:40,320
of not just making a living,
but are thriving.

351
00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:42,400
Like the vicious fangtooth.

352
00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:45,920
It's outsized teeth act like
the bars of a cage

353
00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:48,440
to trap any prey it bumps into.

354
00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:53,720
Incredibly, some create
their own light,

355
00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:56,920
in a miraculous process
called bioluminescence.

356
00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:59,400
SIMON: There is communication
going on using light.

357
00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:02,360
Anglerfish produce light
to attract prey.

358
00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:07,040
It's really remarkable
the exquisite adaptations

359
00:21:07,120 --> 00:21:10,720
that bioluminescence allows
for organisms in the deep.

360
00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:18,480
Now, over 3,000 feet
below the surface,

361
00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:21,840
the shelf on the edge of the Trench
comes into view.

362
00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:24,520
You're approaching the bottom.
See it?

363
00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:27,520
I think I see it.

364
00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:31,000
Will they encounter new species
of the deep,

365
00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:34,200
here, in the mysterious
Twilight Zone?

366
00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:36,360
Surface, this is the LF.

367
00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:40,760
Present depth...
1-0-3-1 metres.

368
00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:43,840
At bottom. Repeat. At bottom.

369
00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:52,200
On a crucial test dive
into the Twilight Zone,

370
00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:55,360
Victor and Patrick
now have the seabed in sight.

371
00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:00,320
Surface, this is the LF.

372
00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:04,720
Present depth...
1-0-3-1 metres.

373
00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:07,600
At bottom. Repeat. At bottom.

374
00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:12,200
The sub now goes into
exploration mode.

375
00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:15,760
Victor has released
a series of small weights

376
00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:18,480
to leave the sub neutrally buoyant.

377
00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:21,920
Now he can use two banks of
propellers or thrusters

378
00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:24,000
to move in any direction.

379
00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:32,720
But look at the clarity of
the water. Look at the visibility.

380
00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:34,800
It's remarkable.

381
00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:39,040
Swimming into view comes
a strange jelly-like creature,

382
00:22:39,120 --> 00:22:42,200
nicknamed
the headless chicken monster.

383
00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:45,000
Look at these glowing things,
whatever they are.

384
00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:48,320
Bioluminescent.

385
00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:51,760
A few hundred feet away,

386
00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:54,840
the robotic probes
have also reached the shelf floor.

387
00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:59,400
It's time to see whether their
baited cameras will lure in

388
00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:02,480
any other creatures
of the Atlantic Twilight Zone.

389
00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:11,160
The first to arrive are specialist
seabed scavengers.

390
00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:14,840
Hagfish.

391
00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:17,360
They're quite gruesome.
They will actually

392
00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:19,120
burrow right into the carcass.

393
00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:22,080
The difficulty is, getting deeper
and deeper into the flesh,

394
00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:23,960
you're having trouble breathing.

395
00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:26,920
But they can breathe through
their anus to overcome that.

396
00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:29,280
When a passing deep-sea gulper shark

397
00:23:29,360 --> 00:23:31,560
decides to have a hagfish
for dinner,

398
00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:33,840
it's in for a nasty surprise.

399
00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:39,760
Oh, he went for it! Nice.

400
00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:42,240
There you go, slime. Right there.

401
00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:44,720
That's a hagfish defence response.

402
00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:48,480
If a shark bites the hagfish,
it automatically excretes

403
00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:50,360
all this slime into its mouth.

404
00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:52,440
That slime is full of microfibres,

405
00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:54,520
so, essentially, it chokes
the shark.

406
00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:58,600
Remarkably, hagfish also cover
their food in a web of slime

407
00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:00,680
to keep other scavengers away.

408
00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:09,920
I really want to try and get to a
lander and use the manipulator.

409
00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:14,960
Up in Mission Control, the team are
using powerful modems

410
00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:17,520
to track the sub
and guide them around.

411
00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:21,760
Let's move north. True north.
And we'll go 100 metres.

412
00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:24,440
"100 metres due north."

413
00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:26,720
Wow.
It's almost like a light.

414
00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:28,800
Wait, is that the lander?

415
00:24:31,120 --> 00:24:33,200
Slow down. Yeah, that's the lander.

416
00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:37,720
Oh, yeah, you can see all kinds
of critters. That's awesome!

417
00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:39,800
Look, there's a gorgonian there.

418
00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:42,960
There's a big fish.
I'm not sure what it is.

419
00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:47,360
It is a type of shark, but not one
that you would see in shallow water.

420
00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:50,920
Do you want to try and use
the manipulator?

421
00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:53,600
Oh, yeah, we can definitely do that.

422
00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:56,800
It's a chance for Victor
to practise picking up samples.

423
00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:00,240
A key task for when he makes
his deep dive into the Trench.

424
00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:02,600
There's your arm.
Look, there's your camera.

425
00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:05,880
Whoa-ho.

426
00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:07,840
Now line it up.

427
00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:21,320
What the hell was that?
We just lost the manipulator arm.

428
00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:23,640
Oh, my God.

429
00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:26,800
There goes 300 grand.

430
00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:28,880
Oh, my God.

431
00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:33,120
The arm's auto-release mechanism
has triggered an error.

432
00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:35,200
Ditching it on the seabed.

433
00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:39,840
Without its weight, the sub is now
making a rapid and unplanned ascent.

434
00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:42,200
Surface, the manipulator
just parted.

435
00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:44,280
We're on our way up.

436
00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:46,720
Roger that. Left bottom.

437
00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:49,280
With no arm. Thank you.

438
00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:52,200
Well, I don't know where we go
from here, Patrick.

439
00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:55,400
We're very early on in the programme

440
00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:58,760
and, when you start having these
secondary systems having issues,

441
00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:01,960
you start having some concern
about the core systems.

442
00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:06,000
Things like life support, flotation,
the integrity of the sphere.

443
00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:09,360
You started wondering,
if we really test these things

444
00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:13,000
at 8,000 metres, are they going to
have a problem or even a failure?

445
00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:19,120
The sub may be safely
back on the surface,

446
00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:21,680
but another huge threat is looming.

447
00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:27,680
During the dive, the waves
have grown much larger.

448
00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:30,040
Getting the $35 million sub

449
00:26:30,120 --> 00:26:33,720
hooked on to the ship's crane
is now full of dangers.

450
00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:37,000
Just hang on. Hang on, buddy!

451
00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:43,600
There you go, there you go!
Fantastic!

452
00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:45,600
Up on the main!

453
00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:48,480
Down on this tag.

454
00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:51,200
Whoa. Whoa.

455
00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:53,280
Whoa, whoa, whoa.

456
00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:57,560
(BLEEP)

457
00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:02,320
A powerful wave has slammed
the sub into the back of the ship

458
00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:07,000
and destroyed an entire bank
of the all-important propellers.

459
00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:12,240
The mounting problems are
causing Victor

460
00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:15,120
to have doubts about
the entire mission.

461
00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:19,760
I'm seriously considering aborting
this mission in Puerto Rico.

462
00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:24,080
It is something I don't want to do,
but it's something we may
have to do.

463
00:27:24,160 --> 00:27:26,640
Look at the thrusters.
What happened there?

464
00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:28,720
Smashed into the back.
We got a tail wind.

465
00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:32,000
Just skied straight down
into the back of the boat.

466
00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:40,200
Absolutely heartbreaking.

467
00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:42,400
Could be game over
for this particular trip.

468
00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:50,720
The sub crew need to find a way
to repair their damaged prototype

469
00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:53,880
and convince Victor
that it's safe to pilot it

470
00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:57,520
to the bottom of the Atlantic
or the expedition is over.

471
00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:02,600
Meanwhile, the science team
are retrieving their robotic probes,

472
00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:06,680
released remotely from the seabed
and the traps have caught

473
00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:08,760
a wonder of the deep ocean.

474
00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:12,880
A monstrous relative of the
woodlouse. The giant isopod.

475
00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:16,320
The woodlouse in your house,
you can find at high altitude.

476
00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:20,360
They are actually the same as the
giant ones in the Gulf of Mexico
or the Caribbean.

477
00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:25,360
So, in terms of a successful
colonisation of the planet,
isopods are pretty impressive.

478
00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:28,640
While the scientists continue
to process their finds,

479
00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:31,920
the sonar team have some
vital news of their own.

480
00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:34,480
They've identified
the precise location

481
00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:38,000
of the very deepest point
in the Atlantic Ocean.

482
00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:39,960
8,400?
8,400, yeah.

483
00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:42,840
It's a real proper target.

484
00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:47,240
It's there. You get one shot.
Yeah. This could be tough.

485
00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:51,320
The site lies at the western
end of the Trench.

486
00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:55,200
An area no-one has identified
as the deepest point before

487
00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:59,080
and a location no-one has ever
explored before.

488
00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:04,160
But is the sub ready for this
incredibly dangerous mission?

489
00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:06,720
I'm willing to try anything.

490
00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:09,520
First, the team need to repair
the damaged propellers.

491
00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:11,640
Keep it up there.
Keep the thing up there.

492
00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:13,600
Over there.

493
00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:15,880
All right, stay and watch
that thruster.

494
00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:17,760
You're clear to enable thrusters.

495
00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:23,240
Thrusters are now enabled.
Beginning thruster test. Ready?

496
00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:25,320
Roger that. Go ahead.

497
00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:28,800
Yeah, looks good.
Whoo!

498
00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:33,880
But can Victor trust the sub
with his life on the deep dive?

499
00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:36,040
We're gonna have to make
a reasoned judgment

500
00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:39,080
about whether to accept some faith
in the team, that they have

501
00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:42,160
solved the major issues. Just have
to make the decision tonight

502
00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:44,640
and then inform the team
about what we're gonna do.

503
00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:56,800
So, from my own perspective,
I feel that

504
00:29:56,880 --> 00:30:01,000
the vessel is safe enough to try
and take it down 8,000 metres
and come back up.

505
00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:03,720
If, at any point,
I feel like it's unsafe,

506
00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:06,920
I'm gonna drop all the weights I can
and I'm gonna come back up.

507
00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:09,840
It's a calculated risk, but it's
like anything else in life.

508
00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:11,920
So we'll give it a shot.

509
00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:19,040
The countdown has begun
to the first ever dive

510
00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:21,400
to the very deepest point
of the Atlantic.

511
00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:25,160
Even though Victor has never piloted
the sub solo before,

512
00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:27,640
he will make the dive alone.

513
00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:30,600
Let's do this.
Ready to launch.

514
00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:33,520
Bridge, copy, boats are a go.
Fingers crossed.

515
00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:39,040
I am most concerned about
approaching the bottom.

516
00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:43,280
If there is some flaw in the
vehicle, it would happen then,

517
00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:46,480
when the pressures will be
the most intense.

518
00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:49,640
Excited. Scared. Anticipation.
All those things.

519
00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:51,880
Godspeed, Victor Vescovo!

520
00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:57,960
You're all happy and secure.
Life support is running.

521
00:30:58,040 --> 00:31:01,640
You're clear to dive.
Thank you. See on the other side.

522
00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:05,200
"We're ready to launch.
Here we go."

523
00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:10,280
Clear to dive. Starting to pump in.

524
00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:16,240
I think my heart rate just went up
a little bit.

525
00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:21,120
Seven metres. Eight metres.
Nine metres.

526
00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:24,200
We are descending. We are diving.

527
00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:29,280
Soon, Victor is passing through
the Twilight Zone,

528
00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:33,680
into a mysterious area so completely
beyond any hint of sunlight

529
00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:36,560
that it's known as
the Midnight Zone.

530
00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:39,400
There are gelatinous animals there.
There are fish.

531
00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:42,080
There are things we don't understand
yet or know about.

532
00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:45,560
One of the team's robotic landers
has been deployed

533
00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:47,640
into the heart of the Midnight Zone,

534
00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:50,200
halfway down the slopes
of the deep Trench.

535
00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:53,560
Just seconds
after hitting the bottom,

536
00:31:53,640 --> 00:31:56,760
a mysterious visitor emerges
from the gloom.

537
00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:04,040
Only rarely sighted,
an arrowtooth eel,

538
00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:06,720
which can grow up to four feet long.

539
00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:17,240
And, lured from the shadows,
an ancient creature

540
00:32:17,320 --> 00:32:20,920
with huge paddle-like fins,
which thrived in shallower waters

541
00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:23,120
at the time of the dinosaurs.

542
00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:25,200
The chimera.

543
00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:38,040
We've just crossed 5,000 metres.
Pretty exciting.

544
00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:42,280
Roger.
LF, I have you loud and clear.

545
00:32:42,360 --> 00:32:45,040
Victor is nearing
a hugely significant boundary.

546
00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:46,720
23,000 feet.

547
00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:49,800
The deepest any other
manned submersible can go.

548
00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:53,400
If something serious goes wrong,
there's now no hope of rescue.

549
00:32:54,480 --> 00:32:56,200
After about 6,000 metres,

550
00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:58,280
we're pretty much on our own.

551
00:32:58,360 --> 00:33:02,080
This is also the boundary
between the Abyssal Zone

552
00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:03,960
and the deepest zone of all,

553
00:33:04,040 --> 00:33:05,640
the Hadal Zone.

554
00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:09,880
Named after Hades, the ancient
Greek god of the Underworld.

555
00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:14,240
The sub is now enduring
crushing pressures

556
00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:18,000
equivalent to the weight
of 250 Statues of Liberty.

557
00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:21,080
(BEEPING)

558
00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:26,640
Something is tripping over here.

559
00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:29,240
What the hell is that?

560
00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:31,320
(BEEPING CONTINUES)

561
00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:36,080
LF, LF, confirm,
did you receive my transmission?

562
00:33:36,160 --> 00:33:38,560
(HEAVY STATIC)

563
00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:45,000
I need my headset.

564
00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:48,000
There's too much noise.
What is that noise?

565
00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:50,920
Try response.

566
00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:55,280
Response. Response.
I need you to come to all stop.

567
00:33:55,360 --> 00:33:57,480
(MUFFLED VOICE UNDER STATIC)

568
00:34:04,720 --> 00:34:07,720
The team and Mission Control
haven't heard from Victor

569
00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:10,760
for 15 minutes, since he passed
23,000 feet.

570
00:34:10,840 --> 00:34:13,960
The maximum range
for any rescue operation.

571
00:34:14,040 --> 00:34:16,920
There's too much noise.
(HEAVY STATIC)

572
00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:20,960
Victor, can you read me?

573
00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:23,040
(STATIC)

574
00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:27,920
Oh, God.

575
00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:30,760
OK, I'm going to go to the headset.

576
00:34:35,400 --> 00:34:37,640
Victor, can you read me?

577
00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:43,000
Can you read me?

578
00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:09,120
"Roger.

579
00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:11,600
Have you good.

580
00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:13,680
I will talk louder."

581
00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:18,680
(BLEEP)

582
00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:20,360
(LAUGHTER)

583
00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:22,040
Breathe.

584
00:35:22,120 --> 00:35:24,520
Breathe, breathe.

585
00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:32,200
200 metres to the bottom.

586
00:35:32,280 --> 00:35:35,680
Roger, LF.
Have you loud and clear.

587
00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:38,280
When you're looking through
the viewport,

588
00:35:38,360 --> 00:35:40,360
all you're seeing is black.

589
00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:43,880
OK, where is it?
Where's the bottom? Where is it?

590
00:35:43,960 --> 00:35:46,000
I'm getting excited.

591
00:35:48,640 --> 00:35:50,640
And then it comes into view.

592
00:35:50,720 --> 00:35:52,920
Oh, my goodness,
I can see the bottom!

593
00:35:55,200 --> 00:35:57,200
Wow.

594
00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:01,680
There's the bottom.

595
00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:18,720
Wow! I'm at the bottom.

596
00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:21,080
Surface. Surface.

597
00:36:21,160 --> 00:36:26,280
LF, present depth...
8-5-8-9.

598
00:36:26,360 --> 00:36:29,520
"At bottom."

599
00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:32,200
On bottom. Loud and clear.

600
00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:34,280
Yeah!
(CHEERING)

601
00:36:34,360 --> 00:36:36,640
How about that, man?

602
00:36:36,720 --> 00:36:39,200
That's... (BLEEP) ..great. Huh?

603
00:36:39,280 --> 00:36:41,880
You... (BLEEP) ..beauties, huh?

604
00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:49,040
Victor has become the first person

605
00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:51,720
to reach the deepest point
in the Atlantic,

606
00:36:51,800 --> 00:36:54,280
over five miles below the surface.

607
00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:05,080
The cameras are capturing
a landscape

608
00:37:05,160 --> 00:37:07,760
no-one has ever set eyes on before.

609
00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:09,840
I'm a long way from home.

610
00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:12,200
It's like I'm on another planet.

611
00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:15,560
The water is barely moving
the sediment.

612
00:37:15,640 --> 00:37:17,640
There's no current here.

613
00:37:24,320 --> 00:37:27,120
My hands are getting cold.
17 degrees down here.

614
00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:31,760
The floor of the Trench
is thick with fine particles,

615
00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:35,720
sent into billowing clouds
at a touch of the propellers.

616
00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:37,800
Oh, it's all dark now. So...

617
00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:40,200
So much sentiment
I can't see outside.

618
00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:42,240
It's black.

619
00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:46,960
It looks lifeless and yet, bowled
along by the sub's blast,

620
00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:49,040
are creatures that can survive

621
00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:51,520
at this extreme frontier
of our planet.

622
00:37:52,840 --> 00:37:56,800
Transparent, jelly-like organisms
called holothurians,

623
00:37:56,880 --> 00:38:00,480
which feed off tiny particles of
food they find in the sentiment.

624
00:38:01,560 --> 00:38:05,360
There's also a set of mysterious
tracks crossing the seabed.

625
00:38:13,920 --> 00:38:17,200
But there are more creatures
lurking in the shadows.

626
00:38:18,360 --> 00:38:20,960
The baited landers
dropped to the seabed

627
00:38:21,040 --> 00:38:23,640
are beginning to lure them
into the light.

628
00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:29,640
These shrimp-like organisms,
are called amphipods.

629
00:38:29,720 --> 00:38:31,920
High-pressure specialists

630
00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:34,280
and voracious scavengers.

631
00:38:34,360 --> 00:38:38,360
In the pitch dark, they have
a supercharged sense of smell

632
00:38:38,440 --> 00:38:41,720
that can detect food
up to half a mile away.

633
00:38:41,800 --> 00:38:44,920
In just minutes,
it's a feeding frenzy.

634
00:38:53,080 --> 00:38:56,480
Meanwhile, Victor is making
a more sobering discovery.

635
00:38:56,560 --> 00:38:59,040
Oh, wow. Looks like something is
dead ahead.

636
00:39:01,800 --> 00:39:03,800
A rusted oil drum.

637
00:39:03,880 --> 00:39:06,840
Although no-one has ever been
here before,

638
00:39:06,920 --> 00:39:09,400
human garbage has still
found its way

639
00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:11,680
to the bottom of the Atlantic.

640
00:39:15,160 --> 00:39:17,520
I totally feel like
I'm in a spaceship.

641
00:39:17,600 --> 00:39:19,600
This is wild.

642
00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:23,840
Victor has now been
at the bottom for 45 minutes

643
00:39:23,920 --> 00:39:28,560
and, in Mission Control, there's
growing concern for his safety.

644
00:39:28,640 --> 00:39:31,240
We have to stop. For safety reasons.

645
00:39:31,320 --> 00:39:34,880
I don't want him colliding
with a lander on his way up.

646
00:39:34,960 --> 00:39:39,120
The landers are due to auto-release
in just a few minutes.

647
00:39:39,200 --> 00:39:42,800
If Victor doesn't leave first,
there could be a damaging collision

648
00:39:42,880 --> 00:39:45,400
that would disable
key features of the sub.

649
00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:47,240
There's something dead ahead.

650
00:39:47,320 --> 00:39:51,880
Be advised.
Lander will be lifting off.

651
00:39:51,960 --> 00:39:54,920
Say again. Keep simple.

652
00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:57,360
Leave bottom. Leave bottom.

653
00:39:59,680 --> 00:40:01,920
Do you copy, LF?

654
00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:07,000
We want you to end the dive
before the lander lift-off.

655
00:40:08,680 --> 00:40:10,560
He's pretty close.

656
00:40:11,680 --> 00:40:13,960
(MUFFLED VOICE UNDER STATIC)

657
00:40:14,040 --> 00:40:16,240
Say again.

658
00:40:16,320 --> 00:40:19,920
When he starts talking for more than
four or five words on the radar,

659
00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:22,000
especially if it's not clear words,

660
00:40:22,080 --> 00:40:25,080
I don't understand it
and I don't know what to do.

661
00:40:25,160 --> 00:40:29,280
If Victor doesn't leave before
the robotic probes auto-release,

662
00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:32,360
there could be a highly
damaging collision.

663
00:40:32,440 --> 00:40:34,200
"Surface, say again."

664
00:40:34,280 --> 00:40:37,080
We recommend you leave bottom.

665
00:40:38,240 --> 00:40:40,480
Leave bottom. Over.

666
00:40:49,880 --> 00:40:52,640
There's something there.
About one o'clock.

667
00:40:52,720 --> 00:40:56,720
"We recommend you leave bottom.
Leave bottom. Over."

668
00:40:56,800 --> 00:40:59,000
Understood.

669
00:40:59,080 --> 00:41:02,080
Leaving bottom. Leaving bottom.

670
00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:05,640
I just hope
the weight releases work.

671
00:41:12,080 --> 00:41:14,080
Oh, come on.

672
00:41:21,760 --> 00:41:23,440
Come on.

673
00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:36,000
The surfacing weight was just
released. That's the big moment.

674
00:41:36,080 --> 00:41:39,320
When your heart kind of stops.
I have positive buoyancy.

675
00:41:41,840 --> 00:41:45,440
Just seconds later,
the landers also auto-release.

676
00:41:45,520 --> 00:41:47,960
A collision has been avoided.

677
00:41:48,040 --> 00:41:49,760
Surface, LF.

678
00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:52,320
Positive ascent.

679
00:41:53,560 --> 00:41:56,240
Roger that. Congratulations.

680
00:42:01,480 --> 00:42:03,880
He's gonna be popping up any second.

681
00:42:17,720 --> 00:42:19,440
Yeah, I see him.

682
00:42:19,520 --> 00:42:21,800
Welcome back to the surface, Victor.

683
00:42:21,880 --> 00:42:24,840
Thanks, Patrick.
That was one hell of a dive, sir.

684
00:42:25,920 --> 00:42:27,800
Let's get him on board safe.

685
00:42:32,960 --> 00:42:35,080
Real slow, real slow.

686
00:42:49,440 --> 00:42:51,440
Victor Vescovo!

687
00:42:51,520 --> 00:42:53,720
(CHEERING AND WHISTLING)

688
00:42:56,120 --> 00:42:57,720
Rockstar!

689
00:42:57,800 --> 00:42:59,400
Thank you.

690
00:42:59,480 --> 00:43:01,640
Good job.
Well done, everyone!

691
00:43:01,720 --> 00:43:03,720
Great job, team!

692
00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:05,520
One down!

693
00:43:05,600 --> 00:43:07,600
(WHISTLING)

694
00:43:13,120 --> 00:43:14,720
It's a great feeling.

695
00:43:14,800 --> 00:43:16,800
Got one. Seeing the bottom
of the Atlantic,

696
00:43:16,880 --> 00:43:18,880
first person to do that,
that was awesome.

697
00:43:18,960 --> 00:43:20,840
Congratulations.

698
00:43:20,920 --> 00:43:22,720
Thank you, Patrick.

699
00:43:22,800 --> 00:43:24,800
Thanks for training me.
(BLEEP)

700
00:43:24,880 --> 00:43:29,040
Beautiful dive.
Executed, like, to perfection.

701
00:43:29,120 --> 00:43:31,320
God, I'm so proud of you.
Thank you.

702
00:43:31,400 --> 00:43:35,640
This is now the deepest diving
operational submersible
in the world.

703
00:43:35,720 --> 00:43:39,520
We just took it where
no-one has ever gone before,
so it's a great feeling.

704
00:43:39,600 --> 00:43:42,000
And, inside the traps
on the robotic probes,

705
00:43:42,080 --> 00:43:46,480
the marine biologists are making
a ground-breaking discovery.

706
00:43:46,560 --> 00:43:48,680
We have at least
four new species here.

707
00:43:48,760 --> 00:43:52,080
I've never seen that before.
I don't recognise that, at all.

708
00:43:52,160 --> 00:43:55,320
The discovery caps what has been
a remarkable first step

709
00:43:55,400 --> 00:43:57,640
in the team's mission to explore

710
00:43:57,720 --> 00:43:59,800
the extreme frontiers of our planet.

711
00:43:59,880 --> 00:44:03,920
We've assembled a team.
Scientific. Sonar. A ship's crew.

712
00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:06,800
We have created this wonderful

713
00:44:06,880 --> 00:44:10,640
mechanism that can explore
the deepest parts

714
00:44:10,720 --> 00:44:13,240
of the world's oceans,
anywhere, any time.

715
00:44:13,320 --> 00:44:15,320
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