GOING DEEP

An advanced new research station is being developed to explore the potential for a human settlement under the ocean

Whether it’s to escape environmental collapse or to explore new, unknown territories, the drive to establish human colonies in places other than on Earth has been gaining momentum in recent years. And while proposed bases on the Moon or Mars might get all the headlines, there’s another equally hostile and largely unknown location a lot closer to home that explorers are also looking towards: the bottom of the ocean.

This is by no means a new idea. Starting with French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau in the 1960s, people have been building and spending limited amounts of time in underwater habitats for decades. More recently, NASA has been sending people to the Aquarius Reef Base, a research facility on the ocean floor just off the coast of Florida, since 2001. Located 20m (approx 65ft) below the surface, scientists, engineers and prospective astronauts typically spend 7–14 days in the module.

New technology is making the prospect of longer-duration stays underwater possible, though, and British company, Deep, is employing it to develop habitats specifically for that purpose. The tech may be up to the task, but the real question is, are we?

ABOVE THE ATMOSPHERE, BELOW THE SEA

Humans are relatively weak. We don’t do well without oxygen or sunlight, and we’re not big fans of major changes in pressure. In other words, we’re not necessarily the best candidates for life at the bottom of the sea.