Alongside ISRO’s Chandrayaan 3 Mission, the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) has also launched the Samudrayaan project, a component of India’s Deep Ocean Mission initiated by the Ministry of Earth Science (MoES), Government of India. The Samudrayaan project aims to send three scientific personnel to study the unexplored regions of the deep sea in order to explore mineral resources. The central government has allocated a budget of Rs. 4,077 crore for the deep ocean mission, with approximately Rs. 200 crore being designated for the Samudrayaan project.
This mission is also in line with the government’s BLUE ECONOMY policy, which promotes the sustainable utilization of ocean resources for economic growth while preserving the ocean environment.
The Samudrayaan project features a personnel sphere for the submersible system named Matsya 6,000, with a diameter of 2.1 meters, designed to be used as a crew module. It has been jointly designed and developed by the NIOT, an autonomous institute under MoES, and the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, ISRO. This submersible system can reach depths of up to 6,000 meters.
The submersible vehicle Matsya 6,000 is constructed from a titanium alloy in a spherical shape to withstand water pressure at a depth of 6,000 meters. It has also received certification from the Norwegian certification agency, DNV (Det Norske Veritas). In comparison, the Titan submarine, which collapsed during the exploration of the Titanic wreckage, was never certified by any maritime agency. The Matsya 6,000 has the capability to operate for 16 hours under normal conditions and up to 96 hours during emergencies, with all necessary safety measures for human occupants.
The submersible will take four hours to descend to a depth of 6,000 meters, four hours to return, and four hours for undersea operations. The Matsya submersible maintains an acoustic link with its surface vessel, and the mother ship will stay as close as possible to the submersible during its operations.
This mission will propel India into the elite club of countries possessing special technology for conducting deep-sea missions, joining the ranks of the USA, Russia, Japan, France, and China. India will become the sixth nation to do so.
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