SEA DREAMS
THE WEEK|May 22, 2022
Work on Mission Samudrayaan, India’s daring deep-sea crewed voyage—set to be launched in 2024—is in full swing. THE WEEK explores the details of the ambitious project
REKHA DIXIT
SEA DREAMS
It is a steel sphere, around 14 feet high, mounted on a pedestal. I clamber a vertical ladder to reach the hatch on top, then descend another ladder to enter an alternate world. The “room” comprises a small seat for a pilot; around the inner walls runs another seat, which can take in another two passengers on either side of the pilot. My hosts squeeze in to make place for me, retracting the ladder and slotting it against the back wall, as I look around. There is a panel in front and a host of knobs and switches. Three small portholes are the windows to the outside. There are rows of oxygen canisters along the walls and two carbon dioxide scrubbers. Once the hatch is closed, we will be sealed off completely; the oxygen canisters will release life-giving air slowly, while the scrubbers will filter the air in the cabin, removing carbon dioxide from it. It looks like a space capsule, except that there is gravity here.

This is the prototype of the human quarters of Matsya 6000, India’s human submersible, that hopes to take three aquanauts to the bottom of the Indian Ocean, some 6,000m below sea level. Work on Mission Samudrayaan, the country’s daring deep-sea crewed voyage—planned to be launched in 2024—is in full swing.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 22, 2022-Ausgabe von THE WEEK.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 22, 2022-Ausgabe von THE WEEK.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS THE WEEKAlle anzeigen
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
THE WEEK India

What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?

IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
December 08, 2024
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
THE WEEK India

Trump and the crisis of liberalism

Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
December 08, 2024
Men eye the woman's purse
THE WEEK India

Men eye the woman's purse

A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
December 08, 2024
When trees hold hands
THE WEEK India

When trees hold hands

A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 08, 2024
Ms Gee & Gen Z
THE WEEK India

Ms Gee & Gen Z

The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing

time-read
5 Minuten  |
December 08, 2024
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
THE WEEK India

Vikram Seth-a suitable man

Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
December 08, 2024
Superman bites the dust
THE WEEK India

Superman bites the dust

When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 08, 2024
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
THE WEEK India

OLD MAN AND THE SEA

Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port

time-read
4 Minuten  |
December 08, 2024
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE WEEK India

Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets

THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 08, 2024
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
THE WEEK India

Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay

AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
December 08, 2024