The mysteries of the deep sea are no longer out of reach. At around 13:00 on August 18th (Beijing time), in the deep blue waters of the Western Pacific, the "Jiaolong" submersible carried scientists Xu Xuewei, divers Qi Haibin, and Zhang Yi to complete its first dive. This is the 300th dive of China's independently designed and integrated first 7000 meter deep manned submersible, the "Jiaolong". Golden starfish, sponges with black corals, orange cold water corals with vines... This dive, the Jiaolong brought back the deep-sea "gift" that scientists have been dreaming of. According to Xu Xuewei, Chief Scientist of the 2024 Western Pacific International Voyage and Deputy Director of the National Deep Sea Base Management Center, today's dive was conducted on an unnamed seamount in the Western Pacific Ocean. The main task was to observe and photograph the distribution of underwater organisms from the seamount slope to the mountaintop, collect biological, water, geological samples, and environmental parameter data, and comprehensively test the various functions of the submersible. At around 6 o'clock on the ship, the journey to the deep sea is about to begin. The weather in the homework area is clear, and the underwater personnel and technical support team are in their respective positions. According to the standardized workflow on the tablet, engineers checked over 100 inspection items of each system on the Jiaolong spacecraft one by one. After a series of preparations were completed, engineer Liu Kun closed the hatch of the Jiaolong. At 7:00 am, the Jiaolong entered the sea on time. The "Jiaolong" was launched from the aft deck of the "Deep Sea One" ship and was towed by a winch to the surface of the sea. In the blink of an eye, it drifted far away with the surging waves. The Jiaolong is currently being filled with water, and it will begin to sink in 100 seconds Following the direction pointed by the diving commander Fu Wentao, the "Jiaolong" disappeared from the water surface at 7:18 am and slowly sank to the bottom of the sea. The reporter nervously and excitedly gazed at the sea in front of them, but for the "Jiaolong" that had entered the stage of commercial operation, everything was a familiar daily routine for the team members. After more than 6 hours, the Jiaolong set sail. The deep blue sea surface stirred up white waves. The "Jiaolong" returned to the sea surface at 13:05, bringing back high-definition videos captured by 4K cameras, as well as a series of samples brought back by the "three heads and six arms" such as rainbow sampler, biological net bag, and microbial in-situ enrichment device. Before the Jiaolong could come to a complete stop on the aft deck, Mexican scientist Erika approached. She was pleasantly surprised to discover that there were symbiotic black and purple corals on the sponge! She brought a sample box containing ice cubes and carefully transferred the samples to the biological laboratory on the ship. On the other side of the submersible monitoring center, scientists have been waiting here early, and the footage taken by the "Jiaolong" from the deep sea is displayed on the large screen. The deep sea at 2000 meters is peaceful and pitch black, and a beam of light emitted by the "Jiaolong" illuminates the seabed ahead. Along the direction of the light, white particles occasionally rush past. Underwater microorganisms cannot be seen with the naked eye, but they aggregate with tiny particles floating in seawater to form granular 'ocean snow', which is also the main source of food for seamount organisms Xu Xuewei said. Through the "eyes" of the "Jiaolong", colorful deep-sea creatures emerge on the ridges of seamounts. Sea anemones, cold water corals, and sponges slowly drift, while starfish, sea cucumbers, sea lilies, and others appear and disappear, together forming a mysterious' deep sea garden '. As time passed, the Jiaolong arrived at the top of Haishan Mountain. Chinese and foreign scientists pointed to the screen and together identified the rocks appearing at the foot and top of the mountain. Both of these rocks have black metallic crust, which should be wrapped in calcareous sediments. We will bring them back to the laboratory for further analysis, "said Professor Chen Xuguang from Ocean University of China. At the end of today's deep sea journey, the "Jiaolong" came to an end. As an engineering dive primarily focused on verifying the functionality of the submersible, this dive will have a slightly shorter duration than subsequent scientific dives. This unnamed seamount welcomed its first batch of 'visitors' today, and I am honored to be one of them. I cannot hide my excitement Xu Xuewei said. Since completing its first diving test on the surface of the Yangtze River in August 2009, a 7000 meter level sea trial in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific in July 2012, a comprehensive technological upgrade in 2017, and its first exploration of the Atlantic Ocean in the first half of this year, setting a new record for "nine days and nine dives", the Jiaolong has now successfully completed its 300th dive... The Jiaolong has left footprints on the seabed of the Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Atlantic Ocean, demonstrating China's deep-sea diving capabilities and realizing its long cherished dream of "being able to explore the moon in nine days and catch turtles in five oceans". After 15 years of tough exploration, we have formed a mature 'Jiaolong' operation mode and safety guarantee system, and trained a group of professional underwater pilots and technical support teams to provide escort Qi Haibin, the submersible pilot of the Jiaolong, said. In the next 30 days, the Jiaolong will conduct 17 diving operations, carrying Chinese and foreign scientists to explore the deep sea and jointly promote the conservation and sustainable use of deep-sea biodiversity. Looking forward to the 'Jiaolong' vessel unlocking more unknown deep-sea mysteries. (New Society)