1 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:08,480 This is the mother of them all. 2 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:11,480 It is the deepest of them all, so we've got a lot on the line. 3 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:14,000 We're going to be assaulting the Challenger Deep 4 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:15,880 with more technology and capability 5 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:18,040 than anyone has ever done in history. 6 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:20,920 You realise how deep we are, right? 7 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:22,840 Oh, my word. Look at that! 8 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:24,920 It's going up. 9 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:29,440 This is really high. Whoa! Up, up, up, up, up, up, up. 10 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:32,880 What the hell is that? 11 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:35,200 (BEEPING) I've got a big battery fault. 12 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:40,120 Surface, LF has lost power. 13 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:48,400 Humankind has explored every continent on earth. 14 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:52,160 We've climbed its tallest mountains... 15 00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:57,000 ..and even journeyed into space. 16 00:00:57,080 --> 00:00:58,880 Thank you, Mr President. 17 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:01,360 There's a vast swath of our own planet 18 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:04,040 that has remained a mystery. 19 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:10,360 The deep ocean. 20 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:12,880 Stretching down over 35,000', 21 00:01:12,960 --> 00:01:17,400 into crushing pressures, it's been near-impossible to reach. 22 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:19,480 Until now. 23 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:23,680 New engineering breakthroughs are driving 24 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:27,080 an audacious global mission to dive to the deepest points 25 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:30,640 of all the five oceans for the first time in history. 26 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:35,160 These pioneers will push technology to the limit... 27 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:38,240 What the hell was that? We have a leak in the hatch. Oh, my God. 28 00:01:38,320 --> 00:01:41,760 ..to open up this final frontier as never before. 29 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:44,080 To try and, like, mentally put yourself 30 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:46,280 at the bottom is just mind-blowing. 31 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:48,560 Mapping hidden landscapes. 32 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:50,880 Discovering unknown life forms. 33 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:54,880 There's something there. And unlocking the secrets 34 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:59,280 of how life in the extreme deep ocean affects our entire planet. 35 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:17,200 Ex-naval commander Victor Vescovo is now getting ready 36 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:19,960 to face the ultimate challenge of this expedition. 37 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:22,440 The deepest dive on our planet. 38 00:02:23,640 --> 00:02:25,440 Roger that, you are free to dive. 39 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:29,120 So far, he's travelled 20,000 miles, 40 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:31,200 halfway across the world, 41 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:33,880 and completed three record-breaking dives. 42 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:37,400 I just want to say thank you all, for getting us to this point. 43 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:40,320 It's been four years since we first started thinking 44 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:42,400 about this overall mission. 45 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:44,640 But now he will be pushed to the limit 46 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,640 by the largest and deepest of the earth's oceans. 47 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:53,040 The Pacific. 48 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:58,200 I mean, this is the mightiest ocean of them all. 49 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:00,960 This is a third of the surface of our planet. 50 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:03,520 The Pacific Ocean is different than all the others 51 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:06,080 in that it has the oldest sea floor in the ocean. 52 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:08,560 It's just a much deeper, much older ocean. 53 00:03:08,640 --> 00:03:12,120 It is also home to the deepest place on earth, 54 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:14,200 the Mariana Trench. 55 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:17,480 From a very young age, I loved just looking at atlases. 56 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:19,840 One of the most prominent features in any atlas 57 00:03:19,920 --> 00:03:21,720 is the deepest point in the world, 58 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:23,600 which is the Mariana Trench. 59 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:25,680 This deep, dark place, 60 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:28,120 of course, it captured my imagination. 61 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:32,680 It's 8,000' deeper than any dive Victor's attempted before, 62 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:36,240 and it will subject the sub to enormous pressure. 63 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:38,320 Just come up on the A frame. 64 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:40,440 Let me know when we're clear for straps. 65 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:42,320 We're clear for straps. 66 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:45,720 It's an extreme an environment as we have on planet earth. 67 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:47,920 This is the major league. 68 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:51,360 You know, this is as difficult, as technically challenging 69 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:53,920 as submersible driving gets on planet earth. 70 00:03:57,040 --> 00:03:59,040 The bottom of the Mariana Trench 71 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:01,280 has only been visited by three people, 72 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:03,440 and one of them is on board. 73 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:06,120 Cool. OK, good. Thank you, guys. 74 00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:08,560 Captain Don Walsh. 75 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:12,880 In 1960, he and a fellow deep-sea explorer 76 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:14,800 took an experimental craft 77 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:17,080 to the uncharted depths of our planet. 78 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:23,720 I never had any fear. 79 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:26,320 Why have fear? What are you going to do about it? 80 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:28,200 You're committed. 81 00:04:28,280 --> 00:04:30,520 You're gonna go down there as far as you can. 82 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:32,720 If something doesn't work, too bad. 83 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:34,800 There's nothing we could do about it. 84 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:37,200 Don is getting a tour of the sub 85 00:04:37,280 --> 00:04:40,080 and discovering that much has changed since his day. 86 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:43,400 Is there a panic button? 87 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:45,720 So, you're the professional pilot... Yes. 88 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:47,720 You crap out, the guy on the right - Yes. 89 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:49,640 ..is perfectly good. There is. 90 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:51,800 It's called the Watchdog system. 91 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:53,680 Every time you do a comms check, 92 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:55,560 it resets the Watchdog system. 93 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:57,640 Because Victor is diving by himself, 94 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:00,200 if something happened, he became incapacitated, 95 00:05:00,280 --> 00:05:03,200 we wanted a system that would bring him back to the surface. 96 00:05:03,280 --> 00:05:05,600 That's that system. It's pretty special for me. 97 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:07,760 I feel like a kid in a candy store. 98 00:05:07,840 --> 00:05:10,640 I don't have any duties here except, 99 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:13,280 you know, show up for meals and smile a lot. 100 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:15,560 I'm a ceremonial object at my age 101 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:19,320 but, still, it's not given to many to, first of all, 102 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:21,400 pioneer something in their lifetime. 103 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:23,880 Do something for the first time, then, secondly, 104 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,520 to see it play out six decades later. 105 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:29,600 What is state-of-the-art...? It's a gift. 106 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:35,400 In 2012, Don witnessed the solo dive of Hollywood director 107 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:39,040 and deep-sea explorer James Cameron, who recorded a depth 108 00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:43,320 at the bottom of the Mariana Trench 10' shy of Don's record. 109 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:45,400 (RINGING) 110 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:48,840 Hey, Victor. Hi, Jim. How are you? Good, good. 111 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:51,120 It's great sitting next to the first person 112 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:53,000 to go down to the Challenger Deep. 113 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:55,880 It's wonderful to be able to talk to the second person. 114 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:58,320 Hopefully we can pass the baton. That's great. 115 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:00,480 You've really kicked the ball down the field 116 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:02,360 in terms of the technology. 117 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:05,520 The only other piece of advice I would give is 118 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:09,640 give yourself a moment to stop and just look out the window. 119 00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:12,120 Just think about where you are and what it means. 120 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:14,440 That's great, Jim. I appreciate that. 121 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:17,880 But now Victor is on a mission 122 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:21,600 to find a spot even deeper than Don Walsh and James Cameron, 123 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:24,720 and break a record that has stood for 60 years. 124 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:28,600 We have one of the best sonars in the world right now. 125 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:30,480 We're going to produce 126 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:32,720 the most accurate map of the Mariana Trench 127 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:34,600 that's ever been done before. 128 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:38,160 The deepest section of the Mariana Trench is in a hollow 129 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:40,240 known as the Challenger Deep. 130 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:44,840 But the team also want to take on a deep ocean exploratory dive 131 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:48,280 140 miles east in the Sirena Deep, 132 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:50,560 where no submersible has ever been before. 133 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:55,440 So, the deepest part is right in here. 134 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:57,320 Nobody's been down there. 135 00:06:57,400 --> 00:07:00,920 The team will be on the hunt for vital new scientific data 136 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:05,120 that may help find alien life elsewhere in our solar system. 137 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:10,440 Because there are frozen moons, like Europa orbiting Jupiter, 138 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:12,840 that NASA believes could hold life. 139 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:17,560 Beneath the surface ice, deep oceans might nurture organisms 140 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:21,800 able to exist in environments as extreme as the Mariana Trench. 141 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:25,120 NASA's search for life efforts 142 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:27,840 are looking for the limits of life. 143 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:31,120 They are interested in looking at 144 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:33,760 the deep trenches to see if 145 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:35,640 microbes can live in these 146 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:38,440 most extreme environments on the planet. 147 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:43,360 If they can find colonies of bacteria in the Mariana Trench, 148 00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:46,120 then extreme forms of life could also exist 149 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:48,800 in the oceans of those alien moons. 150 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:53,120 The general conception I have for this dive is that 151 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:56,000 this is very much a science-focused dive. 152 00:07:56,080 --> 00:08:00,400 One thing that I am concerned about is recovering the samples. 153 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:04,280 First priority is a rock with stuff on it. Fingers crossed. 154 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:08,200 Just be vigilant as you're approaching the bottom. 155 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:11,080 That depth sounder, once it starts picking up 156 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:13,800 and as you know, Victor, is giving you reliable data, 157 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:16,120 pay attention to it, you can't ignore it. 158 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:19,560 I don't know if there's pinnacles or haystacks. 159 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:23,560 Who knows what we'll find? We're going to leave that one down. 160 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:26,880 Even though the dive is not the deepest in the Mariana Trench, 161 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:31,760 at 35,000', it will put the sub's engineering under massive strain. 162 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:35,600 It's a substantial pressure, so we've got a lot on the line. 163 00:08:35,680 --> 00:08:37,480 We've basically got all the poker 164 00:08:37,560 --> 00:08:39,600 chips in the centre of the table. 165 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:44,920 Chief scientist Alan Jamieson 166 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:47,680 is joining Victor on this pioneering dive. 167 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:49,760 Welcome back, sir. Hello. 168 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:52,720 LF, LF. LF. LF. 169 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:54,880 We're gonna go for release here. 170 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:57,160 We're gonna get the sub off the hook. 171 00:08:57,240 --> 00:08:59,440 Perfect. 172 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:03,880 And we are currently about 900 metres from the drop zone. 173 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:05,760 OK, roger that. 174 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:09,880 We can tow him for a couple of minutes, no worries. 175 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:12,960 12-14 minutes till we are ready to let him go. 176 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:17,200 To dive, Victor will pump water into empty ballast tanks 177 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:19,080 at the top of the sub. 178 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:23,960 But now the waves are picking up and flooding them early. 179 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:28,800 75 to go. 180 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:31,720 They're spending a lot of time under the water. 181 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:34,120 The tanks are going to be filling all the time. 182 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:40,720 With that much weight on the sub, that (BEEP) goes down quick. 183 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:43,000 50 metres to go. 184 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:47,640 That's gotta be it. We can disconnect now. 185 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:49,720 Release! Release! 186 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:53,840 It's tied off. Get that (BEEP) tow line. 187 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:55,920 (INDISTINCT CHATTER) 188 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:58,560 Come on, Tim, get her loose. 189 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:00,440 Release! 190 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:03,520 The tanks have filled up. She's diving. (INDISTINCT) 191 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:08,680 Swimmer Tim's got just seconds to release the towline 192 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:12,040 and must avoid getting entangled and dragged to his death. 193 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:14,120 Release! Release! Release! 194 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:21,040 Come on, Tim, get her loose. 195 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:33,600 As I'm taking the handrails off, 196 00:10:33,680 --> 00:10:36,120 I could feel the sub going out from underneath me. 197 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:39,080 In a panic, I tried to get out of there as quick as possible, 198 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:41,720 to make sure I wasn't tangled up in anything. 199 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:46,280 On their way down, Victor and Alan pass through the top layer 200 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:48,800 of the ocean, called the Sunlight Zone. 201 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:53,880 Home in the Pacific to one of the nature's greatest survivors... 202 00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:57,240 ..the nautilus. 203 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:01,840 It's remained virtually unchanged for half a billion years. 204 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:06,960 As the sub goes deeper, the light dwindles, 205 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:09,080 and they enter the Twilight Zone. 206 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:11,560 Here, out of the darkness, 207 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:14,160 emerges one of the wonders of the deep ocean. 208 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:16,840 Creatures that generate their own light. 209 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:21,520 Wow, look at the bioluminescence. 210 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:24,320 Oh, that's so cool. How bright is that? Yeah. 211 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:27,840 Bioluminescence is the most commonly-used communication 212 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:31,160 on planet earth, in terms of the number of species that use it. 213 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:39,920 In the Pacific, the Twilight Zone holds other 214 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:43,080 extraordinary creatures adapted to live in the gloom. 215 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:46,400 Like the Cock-eyed Squid. 216 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:49,640 Its larger left eye can pick out 217 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:52,440 camouflaged prey in the waters above. 218 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:56,640 While its smaller right eye points downwards 219 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:59,160 to spy any predators lurking below. 220 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:04,880 The sub is now passing 3,000'. 221 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:09,800 Beyond here, a US nuclear sub would be crushed like a tin can. 222 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:13,440 This is the Midnight Zone, 223 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:16,920 where some of the most bizarre animals on the planet 224 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,040 are still being discovered. 225 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:23,040 This is a gulper eel, which can detach its jaw 226 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:26,240 and inflate its body to swallow much larger prey. 227 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:31,240 Somewhere between 3,000 and 6,000 metres, 228 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:34,320 just as the pressure decreases the size of the sphere, 229 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:36,840 it tightens, and it happens suddenly. 230 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:39,560 It makes a little rapping noise on the capsule, 231 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:41,640 it's a little unnerving. 232 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:49,520 We've been in the submersible now for three hours - 233 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:51,880 Just over three hours. ..and nine minutes. 234 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:57,080 The sub is now in the deepest ocean region of all, 235 00:12:57,160 --> 00:12:59,160 the Hadal Zone. 236 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:04,160 And, finally, their goal is in sight. 237 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:06,040 I can see it. 238 00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:08,120 See it slowly getting lighter? 239 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:11,360 11 metres off the bottom, we should see it very shortly. 240 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:15,640 Four metres off. 241 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:20,320 That's one metre off the bottom. 242 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:25,480 That's the bottom of the Sirena Deep. 243 00:13:25,560 --> 00:13:27,760 It's incredible, isn't it? 244 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:32,160 Surface, LF. 245 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:36,200 Surface, life support good at bottom. 246 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:38,560 Repeat, at bottom. 247 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:46,000 By the way, congratulations. 248 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:48,880 First man to descend to the Sirena Deep. As are you. 249 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:54,000 The sub is now under some of the most extreme pressures on earth. 250 00:13:56,560 --> 00:13:59,320 Victor and Alan are the first humans to see 251 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:01,600 this unexplored landscape. 252 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:05,800 Now they need to look for communities of bacteria, 253 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:07,680 the kind of extreme life 254 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:09,960 that NASA might find beyond our planet. 255 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:13,760 Finding a microbe in the bottom 256 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:15,840 of the Mariana Trench is important to me. 257 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:17,720 Deep at the bottom of the ocean, 258 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:19,600 you don't have access 259 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:21,480 to sunlight. 260 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:25,080 These organisms have to use some other source of energy 261 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:27,000 other than sunlight. 262 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:31,800 Some bacteria have developed to feed on chemicals 263 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:33,680 seeping from the earth's crust, 264 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:36,640 but none have been found in these extreme depths. 265 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:39,640 What should I be looking for? 266 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:42,960 You're looking for bacterial mats of distinct colour. 267 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:45,040 What do they look like? Some are white. 268 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:47,920 Some of them are really strikingly orange and yellow. 269 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:51,840 OK, your eyes are outside, I'm on inside. Yeah. 270 00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:57,560 Been down here two hours, 15 minutes. 271 00:14:57,640 --> 00:14:59,440 Already? Yeah. 272 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:01,520 How long do we have? 273 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:03,800 We are below 50% below on the batteries. 274 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:05,680 (BEEP) 275 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:08,280 All right, stop, stop, stop. 276 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:11,360 What is that? Whoa! 277 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:13,240 Up, up, up, up, up, up. 278 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:15,120 What on earth was that? 279 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:17,000 Is that a bacterial mat? 280 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:18,960 Look at that. Look! Look! Look! 281 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:20,840 Yep, that's it! 282 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:22,760 See the yellow? 283 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:26,760 The yellow growth on the rocks is in fact millions of bacteria 284 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:30,040 feeding on chemicals seeping from the earth's crust. 285 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:32,800 And it's the deepest ever observed. 286 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:34,880 High five. 287 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:39,000 I knew patience would reward us. 288 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:45,280 The team have visual evidence of the kind of extreme life 289 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:49,200 that could exist in deep oceans elsewhere in our solar system. 290 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:53,200 Now they need to bring back a first-ever physical sample. 291 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:56,560 The current is pushing us to the right. 292 00:15:56,640 --> 00:15:58,560 Look, it's heading... Whoa! 293 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:00,480 (BEEP) 294 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:03,560 Now a strong current is making this delicate task 295 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:06,680 near impossible. Flying a submarine in a current 296 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:09,960 with one hand and trying to get a rock with a manipulator... 297 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:12,040 This is really hard. 298 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:15,080 Oh, my God, my heart is going faster. 299 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:18,160 Whoa! 300 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:22,560 Just give it one more try. 301 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:26,720 I got a (BEEP) rock! 302 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:28,880 I got a rock! 303 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:30,960 I can't believe I got a rock. 304 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:38,080 It fell apart! Damn it. 305 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:41,520 (BEEPING) 306 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:43,720 What was that? 307 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:47,480 Our batteries. We've been here three hours. 308 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:51,160 That's it. I tried. OK. 309 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:53,360 All right, I'll drop weights. 310 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:57,200 Surfacing weight, we're on our way. 311 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:01,360 Sorry I didn't get a rock for you, Doctor. 312 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:03,440 I tried like hell. 313 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:09,760 Surface, surface, LF, how do you read? (RADIO CHATTER) 314 00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:13,120 The team failed to obtain a rock sample but, 315 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:17,200 as the sub comes back onboard, the crew make a surprising discovery. 316 00:17:19,840 --> 00:17:22,920 This is so cool you guys found this rock in here. 317 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:24,800 Can you show me where? 318 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:27,480 The rock was basically just down in the bracket there. 319 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:31,320 It was sitting on that flat spot. Ah, yeah. Yeah. That makes sense. 320 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:34,120 The mud got us thinking, "Let's keep an eye out." 321 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:36,800 This is great. What a find. 322 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:40,520 This is the first rock that has been recovered 323 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:42,600 in the Sirena Deep. 324 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:48,760 Microscopic analysis of the rock surface 325 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:51,000 shows intricate bacterial growth. 326 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:55,560 For us as astrobiologists, to know that there is life 327 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:58,200 deep in the ocean, gives us confidence 328 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:01,520 when we start to look at other places in our solar system. 329 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:06,840 That there are organisms that can survive on another planet 330 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:10,880 without sunlight, and live under very high pressures. 331 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:14,040 At least we know it's possible and it's worth going looking. 332 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:21,280 Wait. Hold on a minute. I'm going to grab that line. 333 00:18:21,360 --> 00:18:24,680 Now the team discover a problem that could jeopardise 334 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:27,560 any further dives into the Mariana Trench. 335 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:31,360 One of the three navigational probes, called "landers", 336 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:33,440 is missing. 337 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:37,200 Alan said that the one of them is still not on its way up. 338 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:39,880 That means it must be stuck. 339 00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:44,040 Lander's stuck in the mud down there. 340 00:18:44,120 --> 00:18:45,920 Bad news, man. 341 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:51,360 You know what you've got to do, don't you? 342 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:53,280 Go back and get it? Yeah. 343 00:18:53,360 --> 00:18:55,360 To save the mission, 344 00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:58,600 they must risk an unprecedented deep-sea rescue. 345 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:04,560 If we are able to actually rendezvous with a dead target... 346 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:07,520 We are attempting the deepest salvage operation 347 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:10,800 that's ever been attempted by man, so no pressure. 348 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:13,280 The big challenge is to find the lander 349 00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:15,160 that has now ran out of battery, 350 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:18,040 so it's not able to signal to us where it is. 351 00:19:18,120 --> 00:19:20,520 Once we find it with the sub, 352 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:23,760 the sub will need to either work it loose 353 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:26,400 by using the manipulator to free it. 354 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:29,480 If it needs to remove the weight from the bottom it will need 355 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:32,480 to put the manipulator arm in underneath and cut the wire 356 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:35,560 that's attaching the weight to the lander itself. 357 00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:41,400 At the helm of this risky operation, 358 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:44,120 Victor puts one of the most experienced sub pilots 359 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:47,720 in the world, the builder of the sub itself, Patrick Lahey. 360 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:50,720 If we find it, we are going to try and get it off the bottom. 361 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:53,720 Whatever it takes, we'll release it. 362 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:59,240 But grappling with the lost lander holds a terrifying danger, 363 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:03,720 of the sub itself getting trapped irretrievably on the seabed. 364 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:07,360 The thing you worry about is entanglement. 365 00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:09,440 You have to be vigilant as a pilot. 366 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:12,240 You have to be to paying attention to your surroundings. 367 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:14,120 All right, McGee. Get it done, buddy. 368 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:16,200 Get it done. Get it done. Right. 369 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:18,160 Bring us home safe, buddy. Thank you. 370 00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:20,320 Thank you, Frank. OK. I'm getting ready. 371 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:22,400 See you later. 372 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:26,680 Accompanying Patrick is deep-ocean submarine specialist 373 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:28,560 Jonathan Struwe. 374 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:32,680 It's really dark and deep and difficult down there to navigate. 375 00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:36,080 I hope they find Skaff. What an amazing achievement that would be. 376 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:38,600 Let's have a good dive. Let's have a good dive. 377 00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:46,480 You are a long way from home down there. 378 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:48,560 And you feel it, I tell you. 379 00:20:56,720 --> 00:20:59,080 Let's launch the sonar. 380 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:02,360 I am going to go ahead, I'm going to increase the scanning speed. 381 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:05,640 Once on the bottom, they start the search for the lost lander, 382 00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:09,160 codenamed Skaff. Oh, yeah. That's-That's something. 383 00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:11,560 We are two metres off the bottom. 384 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:15,160 We'll get you, Skaff. Yeah. 385 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:19,640 They use the sub's sonar to ping the surrounding landscape 386 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:21,720 in the hope of a return echo. 387 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:24,840 Bingo. Now it should be in your window. 388 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:27,920 Just a second, it'll be in your window. 389 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:33,640 That... You can see it! 390 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:35,720 Oh, yeah, here we go. 391 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:40,120 Skaff. There we are. 392 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:42,280 OK, we're on it. 393 00:21:42,360 --> 00:21:45,000 Yeah, it's ahead of us. 394 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:47,480 Yeah, dead ahead of us. It is dead ahead of us. 395 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:52,040 Yeah, I'm getting right over there, get the lights on it. 396 00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:54,120 There we are. 397 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:57,200 Having landed at an awkward angle, 398 00:21:57,280 --> 00:22:00,160 one corner of its base is wedged in the sediment. 399 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:05,480 Jonathan must now work the robotic arm to release it. 400 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:12,200 This is the most dangerous part of the operation. 401 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:17,000 Ah, (BLEEP). What is going on here? 402 00:22:20,360 --> 00:22:22,760 Index again and then try and straighten out. 403 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:25,080 Try, try, try doing that. 404 00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:27,160 I can't, for some reason. 405 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:31,520 Ah! 406 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:36,840 OK, allow me just to come ahead. I'm going to push you. 407 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:38,720 I am going to push the lander. 408 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:41,880 If the arm gets entangled with the lander, 409 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:44,000 and the emergency arm-release fails, 410 00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:46,720 they could be trapped beyond any hope of rescue. 411 00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:49,600 Back up just a little bit. 412 00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:54,080 Get into the right position. 413 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:04,720 What was that? 414 00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:12,440 Patrick and Jonathan are attempting a daring rescue mission 415 00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:14,520 seven miles under water. 416 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:17,400 Get into the right position. 417 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:21,480 One wrong move and the sub could get snagged on the trapped lander. 418 00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:28,120 He's going up! 419 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:30,320 He's on his way! 420 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:33,200 Aaah! (LAUGHS) 421 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:35,280 Patrick! (LAUGHS) 422 00:23:35,360 --> 00:23:37,280 Woo! 423 00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:41,720 Surface, LF, the lander has released. 424 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:44,000 (CHEERING) 425 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:49,240 This is the deepest maritime salvage operation ever attempted. 426 00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:53,200 And to say that we had a marine lander trapped on the bottom, 427 00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:56,720 then sent a two-person submersible 428 00:23:56,800 --> 00:24:00,000 to the bottom, found it, and released it, 429 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:02,400 is simply a technological tour de force. 430 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:05,000 It's extraordinary. I am so proud of the entire team. 431 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:06,880 (WHISTLING) 432 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:11,760 (LAUGHS) 433 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:14,600 With all three landers on board, 434 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:18,280 the crew is now getting ready for the deepest dive on the planet. 435 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:23,440 And the scanning team has made a ground-breaking new discovery. 436 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:27,840 Their high-resolution data reveals a location on this planet 437 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:30,400 that's deeper than any found before. 438 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:33,880 We estimate to be 10,920. 439 00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:37,000 Plus or minus 15 to 20 metres. 440 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:40,480 At nearly 36,000' deep, 441 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:45,440 it's a staggering 117 times the height of the Statue of Liberty. 442 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:48,520 If Victor is successful in his mission, 443 00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:51,600 he will become the deepest-diving man in history. 444 00:24:54,120 --> 00:24:56,800 And break the record set over 50 years ago 445 00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:00,320 by pioneering deep-ocean explorer Don Walsh. 446 00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:03,480 This is a 3-D imagery of the Challenger Deep, 447 00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:06,440 and here we are arriving at the western pool where you dove. 448 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:10,160 Over the central pool and then the yellow dot being 449 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:12,960 what we think is now the deepest point. 450 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:17,560 So, you have the advantage of knowing where you are. We didn't. 451 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:21,800 You know how we did the depth finding? No! Tell me. 452 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:25,360 I'm not really familiar. We used 1lb blocks of TNT. 453 00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:27,640 You threw explosives into the water? Yeah. 454 00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:30,400 They came like that, they were all cast, hole in the top, 455 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:32,800 put the detonator in there and light the fuse. 456 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:35,920 All the sailors volunteered to fling these things off the back. 457 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:37,880 Because the...think about it. 458 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:40,920 The transducer for the fathometer is perfectly adequate. 459 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:44,360 So, you blast off a piece of TNT. Start the stopwatch - 460 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:46,840 You would start the stopwatch, count the time, 461 00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:49,760 then you would use what speed, to figure it out? Nothing. 462 00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:51,640 Seven seconds is deeper than five. 463 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:55,520 OK (LAUGHS) Very empirical and no GPS, 464 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:58,640 and so we're kind of guessing, by gosh, and we're just lucky. 465 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:01,680 Right. It's a skill. We're so fortunate, we're in a place 466 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:04,800 in the world where we have probably ten-plus GPS satellites 467 00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:06,560 to tell us exactly where we were. 468 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:09,960 I guess one question that I had is, when you were diving in your area, 469 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:14,080 the Trieste went down, and then obviously we've heard the story 470 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:16,840 where it got very milky-white and you couldn't see much. 471 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:19,640 There wasn't a lot of manoeuvrability for the Trieste 472 00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:22,920 to get out the clouds or go to any of the other areas? Very limited. 473 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:24,800 Very limited, it was such a big craft. 474 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:27,080 In metres, in terms of where we could move 475 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:29,000 and the amount of battery power we had. 476 00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:32,160 We used silver zinc batteries, that were all inside the cabin 477 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:34,520 and they were dangerous little things. 478 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:38,320 I can imagine your vessel was almost ten times the size of mine 479 00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:41,320 and you had less power and so we're fortunate that 480 00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:44,520 we're going to be able to go down and hopefully cruise around for 481 00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:47,720 four, five hours. I'd characterise ours as a freight balloon. 482 00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:49,680 Yours is really a submersible. 483 00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:54,200 I did have fun, I think we learned a few things and when we came, 484 00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:57,520 after we surfaced, Jacques and I were sitting top-side 485 00:26:57,600 --> 00:26:59,400 waiting for a boat to pick us up. 486 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:01,960 So how long before somebody else gets there? 487 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:05,560 We finally agreed, after some discussion, two years. 488 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:08,040 In fact, it was half a century. 489 00:27:10,080 --> 00:27:12,880 We're going to be assaulting the Challenger Deep 490 00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:14,960 with more technology and more capability 491 00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:17,120 than anyone has ever done in history. 492 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:20,440 We have the most advanced sonar in the world and we have a submarine 493 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:23,520 with a two-person titanium sphere that can do multiple dives. 494 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:25,600 No-one has had this before. 495 00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:27,680 One, two, three. 496 00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:33,640 This will be the sub's ultimate test. 497 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:37,720 The Challenger Deep here in the Mariana Trench 498 00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:40,200 is the Mount Everest of deep-ocean diving. 499 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:45,040 The pressure is 16,000 psi. 500 00:27:45,120 --> 00:27:48,160 The viewports, they compress almost a quarter of an inch 501 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:50,640 under that intense pressure. Ready for Victor. 502 00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:52,520 500m from the site. 503 00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:56,480 It's 3½ to four hours down and up. 504 00:27:56,560 --> 00:27:58,560 Have a great dive, Victor. 505 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:01,200 So it stresses every part of the submersible. 506 00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:03,120 Good luck to us all. 507 00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:07,480 What's really worrying is just that something might not work. 508 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:10,320 If something serious goes wrong, 509 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:14,640 Victor is on his own, where no other craft can possibly reach him. 510 00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:21,960 Sub's clear! 511 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:25,880 All comes down to this. 512 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:29,120 After four years of planning, building, testing, diving, 513 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:31,360 this is the big one. 514 00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:40,640 Fantastic. 515 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:42,640 Have a good one, Victor. 516 00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:45,000 Thank you. See you all on the other side. 517 00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:47,480 Let's get my oxygen going here. 518 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:53,040 To keep Victor alive deep under the water, 519 00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:56,680 the sub is equipped with enough oxygen to last for four days, 520 00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:00,880 but the carbon dioxide Victor exhales could be lethal. 521 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:04,640 So two high-tech devices called 'scrubbers', 522 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:07,600 packed with absorbent materials, work relentlessly 523 00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:10,800 to keep the carbon dioxide below dangerous limits. 524 00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:21,280 Surface, LF, present depth, 833. 525 00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:24,160 Heading 045. 526 00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:26,240 Life support good. 527 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:28,320 Roger, LF. Understand. 528 00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:31,440 Life support good. We have you loud and clear, Victor. 529 00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:38,080 You can hear the outside of the sub creaking just a little bit 530 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:40,160 as it just kind of settles in. 531 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:44,920 Every 60 seconds, the pressure on the sub increases by 400 tonnes, 532 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:49,920 the equivalent of one jumbo jet added on top of it every minute. 533 00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:53,760 Victor is aiming for a lander, 534 00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:56,320 located in the deepest part of the trench. 535 00:29:56,400 --> 00:29:58,680 He will then ping the other two 536 00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:01,160 to determine his exact position on the seabed. 537 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:05,920 My three companion robots are probably on the bottom now. 538 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:16,960 Patrick, we've got an issue. 539 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:19,160 Lander is on the way up. 540 00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:23,600 The release mechanism on one of the landers has triggered early 541 00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:26,480 and it is now hurtling up under the sub. 542 00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:30,280 Captain be advised, we appear to have a situation. 543 00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:33,360 The lander has left the bottom, unexpectedly. 544 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:39,080 At this time, just about 400m below Victor and on its way up. 545 00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:45,520 That's weird, the lander is getting closer to me. 546 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:48,080 Wrong reading? 547 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:51,880 Is there something wrong with this modem? 548 00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:54,080 LF. LF. 549 00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:56,480 LF. Roger, go ahead. 550 00:30:57,800 --> 00:31:00,840 Be advised, lander has left bottom. 551 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:03,200 Has left bottom. 552 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:06,520 Oh, (BEEP). 553 00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:08,600 There is a collision risk. 554 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:11,320 I mean, I'm going down right on top of it. 555 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:15,320 Hope it doesn't hit me. 556 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:17,200 If there's a collision, 557 00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:20,280 it could rupture mission-critical components of the sub. 558 00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:26,760 They are not even 200 metres apart now. 559 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:30,120 150 metres apart. 560 00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:32,480 They're 100 metres apart. 561 00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:35,360 Within 50 metres. (BLEEP) 562 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:43,880 On his way down to the deepest place on earth, 563 00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:48,160 Victor is in danger of crashing into one of his own robotic landers, 564 00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:50,440 now heading up beneath the sub. 565 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:54,560 If Victor collides with the lander, 566 00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:56,840 it could be the end of the mission. 567 00:31:56,920 --> 00:32:00,320 I've always worried about mid-air collisions as a pilot, 568 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:04,240 but I never thought I could have that deep in the Mariana Trench. 569 00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:06,600 Within 50 metres. 570 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:11,360 I'm certainly not going to be jamming thrusters down. 571 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:13,520 I don't want to run into him. 572 00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:16,240 They're probably very close to one another. 573 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:25,480 (INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER) 574 00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:31,280 It's above him. 575 00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:37,080 Yep, looks like it has passed me. 576 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:40,800 Strange things happen down at this depth. 577 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:47,760 Wow! Seeing 10,000 metres is pretty interesting. 578 00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:49,920 That's a big number. 579 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:52,000 Can't help but be a little bit nervous. 580 00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:56,760 The sub is now under the greatest pressure in our oceans, 581 00:32:56,840 --> 00:33:00,440 equivalent to having the largest aircraft carrier in the world 582 00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:02,520 sat on top of it. 583 00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:05,320 Altimeter is at 10837. 584 00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:08,880 Looking out the portal just to make sure that 585 00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:11,120 I don't slam into the bottom here. 586 00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:21,080 34 metres to go. Should start coming into view. 587 00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:24,720 Come on. 588 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:26,800 So close. 589 00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:33,160 18 metres. 590 00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:39,600 I can see the bottom on my display. 591 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:41,680 There's the brown of the bottom. 592 00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:50,600 Touchdown. 593 00:33:56,200 --> 00:33:59,600 There is the bottom of the entire ocean. 594 00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:07,840 Surface, LF, at bottom. 595 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:09,920 (CHEERING) 596 00:34:11,240 --> 00:34:13,920 Congratulations, Victor. Congratulations. 597 00:34:15,360 --> 00:34:17,200 Congratulations to you all. 598 00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:22,960 Victor is now 35,843' below the surface, 599 00:34:23,040 --> 00:34:25,280 deeper than anyone else before him. 600 00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:28,360 Beginning exploration of the bottom. 601 00:34:34,640 --> 00:34:36,560 Outstanding. What a moment. 602 00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:40,200 Wow, it's so soft. 603 00:34:40,280 --> 00:34:43,800 In some respects, this is such an alien environment. 604 00:34:43,880 --> 00:34:48,120 11,000 metres down, 16,000 psi, no light. 605 00:34:48,200 --> 00:34:50,280 This is almost like an alien world. 606 00:34:54,360 --> 00:34:56,360 Oh, whoa, whoa. What's that guy? 607 00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:59,080 Whoa, whoa. We've got to go back and check that out. 608 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:01,480 That looked like something really interesting. 609 00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:03,880 Who are you, little guy? 610 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:09,640 What in the hell are you? You are like a jellyfish snake. 611 00:35:09,720 --> 00:35:14,200 This sea cucumber uses its transparent tube feet 612 00:35:14,280 --> 00:35:17,200 to forage for food in these crushing depths. 613 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:19,400 Definitely some life down here. 614 00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:21,280 I saw it with my own eyes. 615 00:35:22,720 --> 00:35:27,160 During their operations below 13,000' in the Mariana Trench, 616 00:35:27,240 --> 00:35:30,960 the science team has gathered footage of even stranger animals. 617 00:35:35,360 --> 00:35:37,600 Look at that. That is cool. 618 00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:41,080 This fish is a cusk eel. 619 00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:43,240 What makes this one really interesting 620 00:35:43,320 --> 00:35:46,360 is that it has a transparent head, made of a gel-like substance. 621 00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:48,640 It's almost certainly a new species. 622 00:35:48,720 --> 00:35:50,840 No, that's not a fish. 623 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:52,920 What the hell is that? 624 00:35:54,920 --> 00:35:57,240 This animal that is drifting past the camera 625 00:35:57,320 --> 00:36:00,200 is a colony or collection of lots of little small animals. 626 00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:02,760 It's kind of like a jellyfish, but there is lots of, 627 00:36:02,840 --> 00:36:06,040 if you imagine thousands of little jellyfish all holding together, 628 00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:08,000 and we call that a siphonophore. 629 00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:13,360 Oh, that's a really good shot. 630 00:36:13,440 --> 00:36:16,960 I would say that's the best video of a snailfish we've ever got. 631 00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:20,360 The Mariana snailfish is quite an iconic fish. 632 00:36:21,720 --> 00:36:24,400 These fish are right on the absolute limit 633 00:36:24,480 --> 00:36:27,920 of what all fish in the world can cope with. 634 00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:30,800 If they were to go any deeper than where we have seen them, 635 00:36:30,880 --> 00:36:33,120 their cells would start to implode. 636 00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:37,880 It is a rare glimpse of the elusive creatures of the deep, 637 00:36:37,960 --> 00:36:41,960 but soon Victor makes a more disturbing discovery. 638 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:45,080 What the hell is that? 639 00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:49,600 I saw something that looked like a triangle. 640 00:36:49,680 --> 00:36:52,840 Nature doesn't do straight edges, they don't do straight lines, 641 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:55,480 and I saw something that looked a piece of refuse. 642 00:36:57,320 --> 00:37:01,360 Close examination reveals what appears to be a letter "S", 643 00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:05,280 evidence of the unstoppable impact of human pollution. 644 00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:09,520 It's unfortunate that even there at the very bottom of the ocean, 645 00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:13,080 that there is, you know, contamination of some kind. 646 00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:18,080 Victor has broken a record, 647 00:37:18,160 --> 00:37:20,880 but extreme conditions are taking their toll. 648 00:37:20,960 --> 00:37:23,200 I've been here for four hours. 649 00:37:23,280 --> 00:37:25,080 We're running out of power. 650 00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:27,280 Challenger Deep. 651 00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:29,360 Let's go home. 652 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:32,760 Surface weight release. Here we go. 653 00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:35,240 Like a moon launch. 654 00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:39,880 (BEEPING) 655 00:37:42,160 --> 00:37:44,880 What was that? That's a new one. 656 00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:49,440 Well, that ain't good. 657 00:37:52,520 --> 00:37:55,520 It looks like we've got a big battery fault, yeah. 658 00:37:57,160 --> 00:38:01,560 I wonder if I hit something on the bottom that caused an issue. 659 00:38:07,840 --> 00:38:09,880 That's great. 660 00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:11,760 Now everything is black in here. 661 00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:17,520 My heart rate is up a little bit. 662 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:25,000 Surface, LF has lost power, 663 00:38:25,080 --> 00:38:28,240 is on emergency battery power only. 664 00:38:28,320 --> 00:38:30,640 Do not have depth indication. 665 00:38:30,720 --> 00:38:35,360 Roger, understand, we will track you from the surface. 666 00:38:35,440 --> 00:38:40,080 Still three hours from the surface and, with no main battery supply, 667 00:38:40,160 --> 00:38:43,160 the sub's systems start shutting down. 668 00:38:43,240 --> 00:38:45,640 First goes the heating, 669 00:38:45,720 --> 00:38:48,720 and the temperature quickly drops to near freezing. 670 00:38:48,800 --> 00:38:50,640 Got my warm gloves. 671 00:38:50,720 --> 00:38:53,920 But things are about to get far more serious. 672 00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:56,920 (BEEPING) CO2 alarm 0.5. 673 00:38:57,000 --> 00:39:02,640 Normal carbon dioxide levels in the air are 0.04%. 674 00:39:02,720 --> 00:39:06,000 In the sub, they are now rising rapidly. 675 00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:14,080 CO2 is 0.72, is that? 676 00:39:14,160 --> 00:39:18,720 Every breath Victor takes releases more toxic carbon dioxide 677 00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:20,600 into a sealed environment. 678 00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:22,680 If the levels keep rising, 679 00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:26,400 Victor may not have long before he loses consciousness. 680 00:39:35,160 --> 00:39:38,800 (BEEPING) The CO2 is rising rapidly. 681 00:39:38,880 --> 00:39:42,200 At 1% CO2, you start to feel ill effects, 682 00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:44,640 at 2% you could, I believe, pass out. 683 00:39:44,720 --> 00:39:46,520 If the levels keep rising, 684 00:39:46,600 --> 00:39:49,440 Victor might not reach the surface in time. 685 00:39:49,520 --> 00:39:51,920 0.5 is the alarm condition. 686 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:54,560 LF, what is your O2 reading? 687 00:39:54,640 --> 00:39:58,640 Confirm, both scrubbers are running. 688 00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:05,960 You do have a secondary Analox unit, you can power that up. 689 00:40:14,440 --> 00:40:16,440 LF, what is your reading? 690 00:40:18,440 --> 00:40:22,440 Control be advised CO2 level of... (STATIC) 691 00:40:24,280 --> 00:40:28,600 Roger. Say again. Say again your last, Victor. 692 00:40:31,680 --> 00:40:35,960 Control be advised, CO2 level back down to 0.32. 693 00:40:38,240 --> 00:40:42,120 Roger that. OK, man, we'll see you on the surface. 694 00:40:43,680 --> 00:40:46,320 12 hours since his early morning launch, 695 00:40:46,400 --> 00:40:49,240 Victor returns from the deepest place on earth. 696 00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:52,400 LF, this is Xeno, welcome back, Victor. 697 00:40:52,480 --> 00:40:54,680 Swimmer in the water! 698 00:41:00,920 --> 00:41:03,480 LF, LF, Xeno, Victor. 699 00:41:03,560 --> 00:41:07,680 Yeah, Victor, we are taking the odd wave across the top of the sub. 700 00:41:07,760 --> 00:41:09,560 If you could thrust up... 701 00:41:09,640 --> 00:41:11,840 Surface, be advised, using thrusters 702 00:41:11,920 --> 00:41:15,360 overloaded my remaining batteries, batteries are dead. 703 00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:18,640 With no power left, the sub can't fully resurface. 704 00:41:18,720 --> 00:41:21,880 Swimmer Tim once more has to put his body on the line. 705 00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:23,960 I got it. Back away. 706 00:41:26,080 --> 00:41:28,080 OK, standby with the hand rail. 707 00:41:28,160 --> 00:41:30,160 Keep an eye on that towline, boys. 708 00:41:33,040 --> 00:41:36,320 Towline has come loose! Towline has come loose! 709 00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:41,560 Give him slack! Give him slack! Give him slack! 710 00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:43,640 You OK, Tim? 711 00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:53,280 Tim? You all good? 712 00:41:54,560 --> 00:41:56,360 You OK, Tim? 713 00:42:05,800 --> 00:42:07,600 LF is on the hook. 714 00:42:07,680 --> 00:42:09,760 That was (BEEP) sporty, boys. 715 00:42:16,360 --> 00:42:18,160 (CHEERING) 716 00:42:21,160 --> 00:42:23,560 Thank you, guys. Well done! 717 00:42:23,640 --> 00:42:25,520 Thank you for coming to get me! 718 00:42:25,600 --> 00:42:29,560 Despite an electrical failure and a carbon dioxide scare, 719 00:42:29,640 --> 00:42:33,280 Victor has conquered the fourth of the five oceans. 720 00:42:33,360 --> 00:42:35,200 Well done. 721 00:42:35,280 --> 00:42:37,280 You did it, buddy. You did it! 722 00:42:37,360 --> 00:42:40,640 Congratulations! Well done, sir. Thank you for showing the way. 723 00:42:40,720 --> 00:42:42,880 You're my hero. Thank you. No, you're mine. 724 00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:45,640 Victor Vescovo, world's deepest diver! 725 00:42:45,720 --> 00:42:47,720 (CHEERING) 726 00:42:47,800 --> 00:42:49,960 It was an amazing dive. 727 00:42:50,040 --> 00:42:53,040 I think almost exactly 12 hours. 728 00:42:53,120 --> 00:42:55,320 But I must confess there was more 729 00:42:55,400 --> 00:42:57,320 life down there than I expected. 730 00:42:57,400 --> 00:42:59,200 I thought it was gonna be dead, 731 00:42:59,280 --> 00:43:01,080 and it is not. 732 00:43:06,320 --> 00:43:09,720 I'm just glad to have you back home safe. 733 00:43:11,360 --> 00:43:13,160 It's great to have him back. 734 00:43:13,240 --> 00:43:15,240 It was a great dive. 735 00:43:15,320 --> 00:43:17,600 It's an inspired, clever design. 736 00:43:17,680 --> 00:43:19,480 And even though it's 60 years 737 00:43:19,560 --> 00:43:22,760 since we did ours, this is like 738 00:43:22,840 --> 00:43:25,840 stepping into the future. 739 00:43:26,840 --> 00:43:28,920 Looking at a map, you take a look 740 00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:31,200 at the Mariana Trench and it's 741 00:43:31,280 --> 00:43:33,120 very dark and blue, even black. 742 00:43:33,200 --> 00:43:35,000 It's intimidating. 743 00:43:35,080 --> 00:43:37,400 I've seen the sandy bottoms. 744 00:43:37,480 --> 00:43:39,080 I've seen the rocky ledges. 745 00:43:39,160 --> 00:43:41,160 It's not a deep, dark, scary place. 746 00:43:41,240 --> 00:43:42,920 It's tough to get to, 747 00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:46,160 but there's an incredible amount of things to discover there. 748 00:43:46,240 --> 00:43:49,080 We now have a tool to bring us there. 749 00:43:49,160 --> 00:43:51,160 Subtitles by Deluxe