Samudrayaan’s key test is complete, says govt
Samudrayaan is a manned submersible mission that will allow scientists to observe unexplored deep-sea areas directly
The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) has completed a key test for India’s first manned submersible mission called Samudrayaan, the earth sciences ministry said on Saturday.
An underwater acoustic telephone, developed by NIOT scientists for the submersible, was successfully tested at a depth of about 500 metres in the Bay of Bengal on board Sagar Manjusha, a research and survey vessel, the ministry said in a statement.
“Deployment preparation, operation and functional testing of underwater acoustic telephone was successfully conducted on board,” the ministry said.
Announced by the government in October 2021, Samudrayaan is a manned submersible mission that will allow scientists to observe unexplored deep-sea areas directly. The Deep Ocean Mission aims to unlock mysteries in the heart of the deeps, and if successful, will put India in an elite club of nations, including the US, Russia, Japan, France and China in developing technology and vehicles to carry out undersea activities.
While explaining the aim of the Samudrayaan mission last year, the ministry called it a “self-propelled manned submersible to carry three human beings to a water depth of 6,000 metres in the ocean with a suite of scientific sensors and tools for deep ocean exploration”.
Agencies associated with the mission have said the design of the vehicle was complete and the realisation of various components of the vehicle was in progress.
“Manned submersible facilitates the direct observation by the human in deep ocean in exploring mineral resources rich in nickel, cobalt, rare earths, manganese etc. and collection of samples, which can be used for analysis,” the ministry said in its mission document.
The Centre approved the Deep Ocean Mission at a total budget of ₹4,077 crore for five years. The estimated cost for the first phase for the three years (2021-24) is ₹2,823.4 crore, government data show.
India has a unique maritime position with a 7,517 km coastline along nine mainland states and 1,382 islands. The mission aims to boost the central government’s vision of a new India that highlights the blue economy as one of the 10 core dimensions of growth.
