Not only did the two hydronauts risk instant death from the 18,000 pounds per square inch of water pressure all around them, they endured many hours of damp, bone-chilling cold sitting in a tiny metal pressure sphere suspended under the Trieste‘s hull. They were completely cut off from the rest of the world during most of their slow descent—their sonar/hydrophone voice communication system had inexplicably failed early in their voyage.
There was an especially tense moment when they realized a viewing port in the steel tube that connected their pressure sphere to the hull had cracked. If the tube filled with water, they would be forced to stay in the cramped sphere for four days with almost no food while their support tug towed them back through heavy seas to Guam. Fortunately, the cracked window wasn’t a significant issue.
This is interesting, and indeed an historic event, you might be thinking. You may also be thinking, Why is this event the subject of a blog post on the web site for two science-fiction novels that have nothing to do with exploring the Earth’s oceans in general or the Trieste’s dive to the Challenger Deep in particular?
Actually, there is a connection between my upcoming novel, The Loss of What is Past, and the extraordinary voyage of Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh 65 years ago. “What is that connection?” you ask. Well … you’ll need to read the book to find that out. 😉
Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about Piccard, Walsh, and the Trieste, here are a few sources. The book by Norman Polmar and Lee Mathers includes a very detailed account of the historic first dive to the bottom of the Challenger Deep.
- Wikipedia. “Challenger Deep.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenger_Deep
- Wikipedia. “Trieste (bathyscaphe).” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trieste_(bathyscaphe)
- Wikipedia. “Jacques Piccard.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Piccard
- Wikipedia. “Don Walsh.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Walsh
- Polmar, Norman C. and Lee J. Mathers. Opening the Great Depths: The Bathyscaph Trieste and Pioneers of Undersea Exploration. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2021
(Image courtesy of U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE)
