India's Samudrayaan Mission To Unlock Deep Sea Treasures At 6,000 Metre Depth With Crewed 'Matsya 6000' Vehicle

India is planning to explore deep sea resources with its Samudrayaan mission, the Parliament was informed on Wednesday (21 December).

Under the Samudrayaan Mission, India will send three personnel to to 6,000 metre depth in a vehicle called 'Matsya 6000' for the explorationn of deep sea resources like minerals.

"The mission is expected to be realised by year 2026," Union Minister of State for Earth Sciences Jitendra Singh said in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha.

Singh said that ‘MATSYA 6000’ vehicle is being designed and developed by Chennai-based National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), an autonomous society under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

The vehicle has an endurance of 12 hours under normal operation and 96 hours in case of emergency for human safety. Design of the vehicle is completed and realization of various components of the vehicle is in progress, the minister informed.

He said that manned submersible facilitates the direct observation by the human in deep ocean in exploring mineral resources rich in Nickel, Cobalt, Rare Earths, Manganese etc. and collection of samples, which can be used for analysis.

Apart from the scientific research and technological empowerment as the benefits, this mission has immediate spin-offs in the form of underwater engineering innovations in asset inspection, tourism and promotion of ocean literacy.

Singh said that work is going for development of 6000 m depth rated Integrated Mining Machine and unmanned vehicles (tethered and automated) to explore deep sea resources and biodiversity assessment.