Recent Underwater Habitat Showcase: Progetto Abissi (Project Abyss)
This one's very recent history, having taken place in 2005 and 2007 (there were two missions, the first 10 days and the second 14 days). It was a project undertaken by an accomplished Italian diving club, at the price of a cool 1.4 million in total.
Progetto Abissi (Project Abyss) consisted of three identical yellow pods of the type shown above emplaced in an italian bay at a depth of twenty feet. Two were sleeping space for the divers, one was a general purpose living room and kitchen where the other functions of life could be carried out.
It served as the platform for a game show in 2007, lasting two weeks during which time the aquanauts lived full time underwater. The real significance of this project was its totally private funding. They found a way to profit from the construction and use of these habitats such that they paid for themselves.
It wasn't sustainable however. Once the show completed its run, funding was withdrawn and the habitats were removed from the bay they'd been emplaced in. What always eludes underwater dreamers is some way to keep the money rolling in that's necessary to pay for the ongoing operation and maintenance of these structures.
While underwater, aquanauts enjoyed a variety of activities for the entertainment of television viewers at home. Frisbee, golf, a leisurely rest on one of the lawn chairs supplied for them, and even a few games of underwater pool:
All in good fun. But then, all good things must come to an end. To my knowledge the diving club was able to keep the habitats, but I have no further information as to whether or not they have been reused since then. I have found some videos dated later than 2007 but cannot read or understand spoken Italian, impeding my research:
Anyway that's all for this time. Take heart, it would seem that with the right pitch it's possible to fund manned undersea projects as reality show fodder. That's less than ideal but goes to show how much more affordable it is to put humans underwater than in space.
Stay tuned for more installments!
Stay Cozy!
You blog and srticle is full of adventure and new & updated thing and it makes me to stop by your blog and now onward I wish to be a regular reader.
Thanks @alexbeyman
Pool underwater ?? Next level gaming
You should have checked what it was at least once even if you were not gonna read it cuz its not a game bro lol.
It’s not gaming gaming like video game I’m saying it as challenging @alexbeyman
OMG very interesting post, about under water life, thanks for sharing such a wonderful science and technology policies for the benefits of mankind. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, something more than amazing and sharing this information benefits humanity
@maya7
@alexbeyman
Seeing these images gave me some new perspective on just how uncomfortable living in space would be. Relying on a pressurized environment would stress me out.
There's no pressure difference between the inside and outside. These are ambient pressure, like a diving bell. The only big stress on the structure is upward, from buoyancy.
I see, that's not so bad. I skimmed the video a bit closer and found how they get in/out, it's a lot less stressful than I imagined. Alright, maybe I could live under shallow water, still not sold on space.
Will they have an underwater swimming pool? How cool would that be.
Living in water means living in body resilience and significant water pressure resistance.
Danger always awaits, more than life above, but we will feel different atmosphere. different challenges, different lifestyles.
Living in water means living in the simplicity and joy that is in our hearts.
that's what I can take advantage of the above post about fast-growing technology in both research and experiment's point of view.
ALEX - I think this project is not complex as previous projects... I feel like 'Project Abyss' looks similar to living in a tank... Anyway you made a nice article...
+W+ [UpVoted & ReSteemed]
Aside from military applications where funding is essentially covered, surely there must be some commercial ways of funding this kind of project?
Is there something valuable in the silt on the bottom that requires human intervention to extract in a useful way? Is there algae that requires deep ocean placement? I wouldn't think so, on that last one, but I'm no expert.
Maybe there are some unique minerals or harvestable goods around deep ocean lava vents?
Regardless, its clear there needs to be a compelling financial incentive for future underwater projects to move forward. Aside from the one-off Navy or university studies.
Put a neo nazi, a black panther, a transwoman, a Scientologist, a wahabi Muslim, and an evangelical Christian in this thing for a month and film it:
I'd watch that, whoo-hoo! At least for an episode or two. Let the sparks fly.
Indeed, and there's already robots to harvest those metals:
They need to be controlled by humans over long, thin fiber optic cables though. Radio doesn't go very far through sea water unless it's ELF which is too low bandwidth for almost any application other than morse code.
The Chinese government is solving this by building an underwater habitat from which human technicians can control the robots far below, despite the violent surface weather of the south China sea which makes operating out of a boat that loiters overhead unsafe: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-07/china-pushes-plan-for-oceanic-space-station-in-south-china-sea
Very interesting.
Gaming underwater is a totally different experience.i am wondering how all these things are not blowing up in water. are they so heavy or something else.
They are weighted down with concrete blocks underneath.
Ohh! Here i got it.
I would love to go down that deep but I could not handle the tight space in the sub.