Chinese manned submersible Jiaolong (file photo/CGTN)

Chinese manned submersible Jiaolong set off on Tuesday for the Mariana Trench in the third stage of China's 38th ocean scientific expedition in the West Pacific, reported Xinhua News Agency.

Xiangyanghong 09, the mother ship, set off from Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province on Tuesday together with 96 expedition members.

In the third and final stage of this expedition, Jiaolong is expected to complete four deep dives in the Mariana Trench and five deep dives in the Yap Trench. Over the course of 34 days, scientists aim to explore the adaptive mechanism of creatures in the deep ocean.

Jiaolong is scheduled to return on June 18 to Qingdao in east China's Shandong Province.

In the previous two stages of the expedition, Jiaolong successfully completed deep-sea operations in the northwestern Indian Ocean and South China Sea.