Race to the bottom of the ocean

• RACE To the bottom
• TRITON SUB Adventure tourism
• VIRGIN SUB One-man mission
• DOER SUB Science explorers
• CAMERON'S SUB Film adventure?

The race is on to reach the deepest place in the ocean: the Mariana Trench, which plunges 11km (7 miles) down. Fifty years after it was first conquered, four teams are vying to return. It will be an epic journey that will push submersible technology to its limits and put the lives of those piloting the vessels at grave risk. Each team has a unique approach, but over the course of the next year only one will be crowned the winner in this journey beyond the abyss.

• Click on the subs for more
• Mariana Trench
• Sea level, 0m
• Challenger Deep, Mariana Trench
  The ocean's deepest point 10,994m down

• TRITON

  Is a ride in this yellow submarine worth $250,000 a seat?

• VIRGIN

  Can this one-man mission break a record in five oceans?

• DOER

  What can this Google-backed sub do for science?

• JAMES CAMERON

  Will the Avatar director find a sequel in the deep?

Written by Rebecca Morelle. Production by John Walton, Helene Sears, Luke Ward and Charlotte Thornton. Camera work, Simon Hancock.

Image credit: CCOM/University of New Hampshire and Google.

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