Jiaolong carries first scientist on deep-sea dive

（Xinhua） 14:00, June 18, 2013

Zhou Huaiyang, professor of the School of Ocean and Earth Science at Tongji University, waves before entering China's manned deep-sea submersible Jiaolong aboard the Xiangyanghong 09 in South China Sea, June 18, 2013. The Jiaolong manned deep-sea submersible on Tuesday carried its first scientist Zhou Huaiyang as crew member during a deep-sea dive. Jiaolong left east China's city of Jiangyin on June 10 for its first voyage of experimental application. The 113-day-long mission will include experiments on Jiaolong's positioning system, as well as deep-sea ecological and geological surveys in the South China Sea, biological surveying and geological sampling in the Pacific Ocean. (Xinhua/Zhang Xudong)

ABOARD XIANGYANGHONG 09, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The Jiaolong manned deep-sea submersible on Tuesday carried its first scientist as crew member during a deep-sea dive.

The submersible, carrying Zhou Huaiyang, professor of the School of Marine and Earth Science at Tongji University, commenced its dive at 9:30 a.m. and will return to the Xiangyanghong 09 oceanographic vessel around 4:00 p.m.

The Jiaolong completed a deep-sea dive in the South China Sea on Monday as part of an ongoing mission in the Pacific Ocean.

The crew included Ye Cong, chief designer of the Jiaolong and an employee of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corp., Yang Bo, a researcher from the Institute of Acoustics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Liu Kaizhou from the Shenyang Institute of Automation under the CAS.

Liu Feng, chief commander of the mission, said the success of the dive confirmed the submersible's ability to perform reliably.

"The discovery of multiple sea bed dwellers, such as mussels and spider crabs, will help to support further research in the South China Sea," Liu said.

The submersible left east China's city of Jiangyin on Monday to begin a 113-day-long mission that will include experiments designed to test its positioning system, as well as biological surveys and geological sampling to be conducted in the Pacific Ocean.

The Jiaolong set a new dive record after reaching a depth of 7,062 meters in the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench in June 2012. The current mission marks the start of a five-year trial period for the Jiaolong before it goes into regular operation.