The Bold Man And The Sea
Popular Science|Fall 2019

Inside the ambitious quest to reach the bottom of each ocean and change the landscape of exploration

- Josh Dean
The Bold Man And The Sea

After Victor Vescovo climbed the seven Summits—the highest mountain on each continent—he skied to both the North and South poles. Only 66 people have accomplished this dual feat of human performance, dubbed the Explorers’ Grand Slam. When Vescovo finished, in 2017, he certainly could have hung up his gear and felt pretty good about his place in the annals of adventure. But the 53-year-old private equity investor from Texas was not done.

Vescovo had been considering what, after Everest and Antarctica, he could possibly tackle that would feel big enough. Outer space wasn’t really an option yet. Then he came up with the perfect quest. It would be, in a sense, the inverse of the Seven Summits. He called it the Five Deeps.

No human has ever reached the bottommost point of all five oceans, or even tried. And only one person—film director and ocean fanboy James Cameron—had touched the absolute nadir, Challenger Deep in the western Pacific’s Mariana Trench, since Lt. Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard first reached the spot way back on January 23, 1960.

That’s how, in December 2018, Vescovo found himself off Puerto Rico aboard Pressure Drop, a repurposed U.S. Navy ship, preparing to take Limiting Factor, the deep-diving submersible he’d commissioned, to the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, 8,376 meters down. (Meters are standard in the nautical world; that’s 27,480 feet, or just over 5 miles.)

Limiting Factor is the unique creation of Triton Submarines, and the company’s president, Patrick Lahey, wasn’t thrilled that this unicorn of a customer—the rich guy who called up and ordered a full-ocean depth sub—was determined to go it alone. Lahey urged Vescovo to dive with a copilot. But this was always a nonstarter.

この蚘事は Popular Science の Fall 2019 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

この蚘事は Popular Science の Fall 2019 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

POPULAR SCIENCEのその他の蚘事すべお衚瀺
Popular Science

They Might Be Giants

A photographer-and-ecologist team are on a mission to document the forests’ mightiest members.

time-read
3 分  |
Winter 2020
Popular Science

Droplet Stoppers

Covid-19 made face masks a crucial part of every outfit, and we’re likely to don them in the future when we feel ill. Fortunately, there’s a style for every need.

time-read
1 min  |
Winter 2020
Popular Science

Landing a Lifeline

For those whose livelihood depends on the ocean, a covid-spurred interruption in the seafood market might speed progress toward a more sustainable future—for them and for fish.

time-read
10+ 分  |
Winter 2020
Headtrip – Your brain on video chat
Popular Science

Headtrip – Your brain on video chat

Dating, Catching up with family, and going to happy hour are best in person.

time-read
1 min  |
Winter 2020
Behind The Cover
Popular Science

Behind The Cover

Butterflies may seem delicate, but they are surprisingly tough.

time-read
1 min  |
Winter 2020
Tales From the Field – A cold one on mars
Popular Science

Tales From the Field – A cold one on mars

Kellie Gerardi, bioastronautics researcher at the International Institute for Austronautical Science

time-read
1 min  |
Winter 2020
Popular Science

The Needs Of The Few

Designing with the marginalized in mind can improve all of out lives.

time-read
6 分  |
Winter 2020
Popular Science

Life On The Line

On the Western edge of Borneo, a novel conservation-minded health-care model could provide the world with a blueprint to stop next pandemic before it starts.

time-read
10+ 分  |
Winter 2020
waste watchers
Popular Science

waste watchers

YOU CAN TURN FOOD SCRAPS INTO FERTILIZER IN ALMOST ANY CONTAINER. THESE BINS USE THEIR OWN METHODS TO ENCOURAGE THE PROCESS, BUT BOTH KEEP BUGS AND STINK AT BAY.

time-read
1 min  |
Winter 2020
why can't i forget how to ride a bike?
Popular Science

why can't i forget how to ride a bike?

LEARNING TO PEDAL IS NO EASY FEAT.

time-read
1 min  |
Winter 2020