Underwater station in China (2 photos)

China continues to build a base at a depth of two kilometers. For comparison, conventional submarines dive to 500-600 meters, and the record diving depth was held by the Soviet submarine "Komsomolets", just over a kilometer. Simply put, the Chinese submarine base will be located very deep.





This is an important step in the development of underwater spaces, which seem to be located very close to us, but so far have been studied even less than outer space. Six Chinese scientists marinating in a small building at dizzying depths will be similar in many ways to six astronauts flying in a space station orbiting our planet. The only difference is that space as we know it is empty, while the ocean, on the contrary, is full of diverse life.

The formal scientific task of the station is to study the ecosystem of cold seeps and explore methane hydrates, a potential source of energy. However, the station also has a clear political meaning: China wants to demonstrate to its neighbors that it is the absolute master of the South China Sea, and that it is superior to other countries in the region, including in the development of the depths of the disputed body of water.

But China's deep-sea underwater base is much more than a local research project. Oceans cover 71% of the Earth's surface, with an average depth of 3,800 meters. This is a huge world full of priceless treasures. It can be compared to America in the 16th century, welcoming pioneers and conquistadors.

A deep-sea base should be cheaper, since it does not need to move silently, it does not need a nuclear reactor, and its crew consists of only 6 people (while more than 100 people live and work on a submarine). Simply put, full-fledged deep-sea research, like that which China has now begun, is very budgetary by military-political standards.

At the same time, a deep-sea base provides an excellent cinematic picture, which will be closely watched by all fans of science fiction in our country and abroad, and also allows for the development of a lot of promising technologies, from the work of research drones to the construction of stations for resource extraction at great depths.