KATHY SULLIVAN BECOMES fiRST PERSON TO WALK IN SPACE, VISIT OCEAN’S DEEPEST POINT
Just eight people have reached Challenger Deep, the deepest point of the ocean. More than 550 people have visited space.
But only one person has done both: Kathy Sullivan. Last Sunday, the NASA astronaut and oceanographer visited Challenger Deep, which sits at a depth of 10,928 metres in the western Pacific Ocean, as part of the Ring of Fire Expedition organised by bespoke adventure company EYOS Expeditions and undersea technology specialist Caladan Oceanic.
Ahead of the expedition, EYOS invited three intrepid explorers, which they call “Mission Specialists,” to venture to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, where Challenger Deep is located.
About 321 kilometres from the trench, Guam is the nearest land mass.
Ms Sullivan is the first of the three explorers to finish the roughly 10-hour mission, with two more to follow this week.
“I know (Challenger Deep) as a bathymetric feature on a chart, a tectonic feature, and a seismic feature ... but that’s all data-based understanding. To see it in person - it makes all the difference in
the world,” Ms Sullivan told
CNN Travel.
“No self-respecting marine biologist would be able to pass up an invitation.” Leading up to the dives, the three explorers underwent full briefs on the mission, schedule and research initiatives.
But in terms of physical training, Rob McCallum, the co-founder of EYOS Expeditions and the Ring of Fire expedition leader, says it’s not quite like climbing Mount Everest or training for a space voyage.
“These people are all adventurous, but you don’t have to be an athlete to participate,” he said.
“This is something new, but not something to be feared.” Ever since she was a young girl, Sullivan has been inspired by explorers.
“I was always following the early astronauts, Jacques Cousteau and the early aquanauts. They were inquisitive people. They were clever people that could figure out how to go make things happen,” she said.