Free dive to bottom of Mariana Trench, yes or no?

I think you would be allowed to see them mooning the audience at a sleazy establishment that didn’t charge an entrance fee.

I’d go down there with DethKlok to watch them record Murmaider. And to see Dick Knubbler’s eyes explode.

Yes there is, a submarine called Limiting Factor. It was actually my inspiration for the thread because a scientist got invited recently on a dive.

sure, i would … same as if elon-musk, in a last-ditch effort to procure his rank in fame, was to offer a one-way ticket to enceladus (think saturn) … enough oxygen to last a few hours.

I’d like to do a deep dive of somewhere around the ocean to see some exotic life, but not the Marianas Trench, as that’s just too far and the claustrophobia would be overwhelming.

I have long thought a genuine dive like this recorded for VR would be amazing. Seamlessly edit it to an hour long and make new ones every six months or so, but as a meditative experience it would be incredible.

Just getting there would creep me out.
The water in that part of the Pacific is a gorgeous deep blue, but when you get over the Trench, the water is black.

*Lived on Saipan 6 years, traveled some so I know about the blue; a friend who went on an excursion over the Trench told me about the black ocean.

I’m skeptical of this claim. What we see is the reflection of light in the upper layers, and very little light of any wavelength penetrates more than a few hundred feet. Why would the presence of a greater depth of water below make any difference to the amount of reflected light that we see at the surface?

ETA: If it’s true, I guess it would have to be because some kind of impurities are present in the water above the Trench that are affecting the properties of the water. But not the depth per se.

The time spent getting down and back might be the best part, since that’s when it seems you’d be most likely to see various deep sea critters and monsters.

Maybe this is the answer.

No. It would be, at best, mildly interesting, but I have no backdrop of experience to make it meaningful. Given a choice, I’d much prefer a couple weeks in Pakistan. I wonder how many would make that choice?

I would, jtur88. I feel much the same as you. Well, maybe not Pakistan. I’ve always wanted to visit Iran.

What, no official thread theme song yet?

I like my water: cool… clear… clean… chlorinated… contained.
Besides, isn’t that not too terribly far from The Devil’s Sea?

I voted yes, in part because a friend of mine just became the first woman to go there.

Wow, that’s incredibly cool! Space Shuttle Challenger and the Challenger Deep.

After long & careful consideration … has to be “No”

Looks like I voted ‘No way’ three years ago. That was the right choice.

Yes. But there are many other trips and activities that I’d rather be offered. The appeal would be the scientists explaining things along the way. Otherwise it would be completely wasted on me and I’d rather have it go to someone who could appreciate it more.

Sort of like whether or not I’d say yes to being served at no cost glass of a rare very expensive wine. I would not refuse (I don’t think?) but it would be better served to someone who could better appreciate it? I’d just say it was nice.

No way. Sure, the subs that go down there are infinitely better designed than the Titan, but still the risk/reward ratio is pretty high. Better to send down unmanned missions down there than take humans. Nothing that a human could do down there that a robot couldn’t do as well.