Samudrayaan mission: India’s first Mission to send Humans 6km deep in the Ocean
S VISHNU
The Indian government will soon start its mega ocean mission called ‘Samudrayaan’ to unlock the mysteries in the heart of deep water. With this mission India will be joining the elite club of nations such as the US, Russia, Japan, France and China to have niche technology and vehicles to carry out subsea activities.
What is Samudrayaan Mission?
Samudra stands for sea in English. It is aimed to develop a self-propelled manned submersible to carry three human beings to a water depth of 6000 meters. It will also include a suit of scientific sensors and tools for deep ocean exploration. The name of this submersible is MATSYA 6000. It will facilitate the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) in conducting deep sea exploration. It has an endurance of 12 hours of operational period and 96 hours in case of emergency. The manned submersible will allow scientific personnel to observe and understand unexplained deep-sea areas by direct intervention. The mission will also include the exploration of non-living resources such as polymetallic manganese nodules, gas hydrates, hydro-thermal sulfides, cobalt crusts, located at depths between 1000 and 5500 meters.
Why is this mission relevant for India?
This mission is very important for India because India has a unique maritime position with a 7517 km long coastline, which is home to nine coastal states and 1382 islands. The mission aims to boost the Central government’s vision of ‘New India’ that highlights the Blue Economy as one of the ten core dimensions of growth.
Device for the Mission.
National Institute for Ocean Technology(NIOT), chennai, an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Earth Science(MoES), has developed a 6000 m depth-rated Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and various other underwater instruments. The preliminary design of the manned submersible ‘MATSYA 6000’ is completed.
Manned submersible provides a feel of direct physical presence for researchers and has better intervention capability. Some of the important sub-systems of the manned submersibles are Human support and safety systems in enclosed space, low-density buoyancy modules, and Ballast and Trim System. ISRO, IIT(Madras), and Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) will actively participate in this mission.
Cost of the Mission
The central government has approved the Deep Ocean Mission (DOM) at a total budget of Rs 4077 crore for five years. The estimated cost for the first phase for the 3 years (2021-2024) would be Rs 2823 crores.
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