Explorer, filmmaker, and grandson of fabled oceanographer Jacques Cousteau – it’s an impressive resume. Fabien Cousteau is planning to conduct a month-long scientific research mission which has been dubbed “Mission 31,” which will be taking place at the Aquarius Reef Base located just off the coast of the Florida Keys. Meant to mark the 50th anniversary of Jacques Cousteau’s historic underwater Conshelf II habitat experiment, Mission 31 will last for 31 days – all of which will be spent beneath the surface.
Inspired by Conshelf II
In 1963, Jacques Cousteau created the second of three Conshelf underwater habitats. Conshelf II was situated in the Red Sea, just off the Sudanese coast. It was located at a depth of 10 meters and featured a garage for the famous diving saucer Denise, an underwater aquarium, and a deep-water outpost situated a short distance away at a depth of 30 meters. During the Conshelf II experiment, a team of divers spent 30 days in the habitat, and two men spent an entire week in the deep-water outpost. No one had ever remained at such a depth for so long before, and as a result, the boundaries of saturation diving were broken. In 1964, the experiment was featured in Jacques Cousteau’s film, World Without Sun, which won 1964’s Academy Award for Best Documentary.
An Ambitious Mission
In Mission 31, Fabien Cousteau’s team of aquanauts will spend a total of 31 days in an underwater habitat, and they’ll live at twice the depth the 1963 Conshelf II team did. During the course of the mission, divers will test new technologies including sensor arrays, imaging devices, Kirby Morgan tech diving helmets, autonomous underwater robots, and new underwater motorcycles. In addition, they will be researching the effects climate change in having on life within Florida’s coral reefs, conducting new sea floor mapping missions, and documenting the effects of long-term confinement on human brain function. They will also be documenting the physiological effects of long-term submersion within a high pressure environment without sunlight.
Fabien Cousteau views Mission 31 as an opportunity to increase knowledge about life in the sea, and in a bid to increase awareness, the team will be using cutting-edge camera technology to gather footage for an upcoming documentary which will have the potential to become an IMAX feature film. In addition, Mission 31 will be connected to the surface via a continuous real-time video stream and Skype, with presentations, live experiences, and educational talks; school children and others will have the opportunity to chat with the aquanauts during their groundbreaking underwater experiment.
For twenty years, Aquarius has hosted undersea missions. In early 2013, NOAA was forced to withdraw funding and the reef base was to be decommissioned, however Florida International University’s School of Environment, Arts, and Society was able to create the Aquarius Foundation and now controls the reef base. With the distinction of being the only undersea research laboratory on the planet, this incredible structure proudly lives on and the divers who will occupy it are sure to enjoy the unique opportunity to undertake Mission 31 – a once-in-a-a lifetime opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the great Jacques Cousteau.