India is about to launch its first ocean mission to explore the depths of the deep ocean and its resources. The submarine will also carry three personals to a depth of 6000 meters in a submersible vehicle. Union Minister of Earth Sciences, Kiren Rijiju in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
Samudrayaan is India's first manned ocean mission. It is designed to study deep-sea resources and conduct biodiversity assessments. The submersible will solely be used for exploration purposes hence causing minimum to zero damage to the ecosystem.
This project is a part of a bigger deep ocean mission. This will support the centre's Blue Economy policy. Samudrayaan aims to utilise ocean resources sustainably for the country's economic growth, improved livelihoods, and job creation, and maintain ocean ecosystem health.
The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in Chennai is designing and developing the Samudrayan project and it is likely to be ready by 2026. The mission is significant as it will allow scientific personnel to observe and understand unexplored deep-sea areas through direct intervention. It also aligns with the Central government's vision of 'New India', highlighting the Blue Economy as one of the ten core dimensions of growth.
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The submersible vehicle, named 'MATSYA 6000', has an endurance of 12 hours under normal operation and 96 hours in case of emergency for human safety.
Deep Ocean Mission including the Samudrayaan project. has been estimated at Rs 4,077 crores over a five-year period. With this mission, India could join the elite group of countries with specialist technology and vehicles to conduct subsea missions, including the United States, Russia, France, Japan, and China.
