Indian Deep Sea Exploration program

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Samudrayaan set to explore ocean bed by 2025 end.​

‘Samudrayaan set to explore ocean bed by 2025 end’

India's Samudrayaan mission aims to send scientists 6 km deep under the sea by next year.

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Samudrayaan Mission: How long can the crew survive underwater in an emergency?​

The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) is spearheading the design of the Samudrayaan mission, equipping the Matsya-6000 with all necessary systems.​

Samudrayaan Mission is being developed by NIOT. (Photo: Sibu Tripathi)

In Short​

• Matsya-6000 is equipped to support the crew for an extended period
• Food for the mission is being developed by the DRDO
• Matsya-6000 will be deployed into the sea from India's research vessel

India is set to make history with its first manned deep-sea exploration mission, Samudrayaan, which aims to send three humans to explore the ocean floor at a depth of 6,000 meters.

Dr. S Ramesh, Scientist-in-Charge of India's deep-sea mission, in an exclusive conversation with IndiaToday.in revealed key details about the mission's duration and capabilities.

The Samudrayaan mission is designed to last 12 hours from the moment the Matsya-6000 submersible dives into the ocean until its recovery upon mission completion.

The personnel sphere is being crafted from titanium. (Photo: NIOT)

This 12-hour window, referred to as the vehicle's endurance, will allow the crew to conduct their exploration and research activities on the ocean floor.

SAMUDRAYAAN IN EMERGENCY MODE​

In the event of an emergency, the Matsya-6000 is equipped to support the crew for an additional 96 hours, extending the total potential endurance of the vehicle to 108 hours. This extended capability ensures the safety of the crew in unforeseen circumstances.

The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) is spearheading the design of the Samudrayaan mission, equipping the Matsya-6000 with all necessary systems for the entire 108-hour mission duration.

These include life support systems, batteries, communications equipment, food supplies, waste management, oxygen provision, and CO2 scrubbers.

Interestingly, the food for the mission is being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), leveraging their expertise in creating specialised nutrition for Gaganyaan astronauts.

The Matsya-6000 will be deployed into the sea from India's research vessel Sagar Nidhi, which will serve as the surface support for the deep-sea mission.

With this mission, India is poised to join an elite group of nations capable of deep-sea exploration.

Matsya-6000 will be deployed into the sea. (Photo: Sibu Tripathi)

The Matsya-6000's design, featuring a 2.1-meter diameter spherical hull, puts it in the same league as other renowned deep-sea vehicles such as Russia's Mir series, France's Nautile, Japan's Shinkai, and China's Jiaolong.

As India prepares to embark on this groundbreaking 12-hour journey into the depths of the ocean, the Samudrayaan mission is a significant leap forward in the country's scientific capabilities and its commitment to exploring the vast, mysterious realm of the deep sea.

 

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Credits: The Print
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India’s first crewed deep-sea mission set for testing—‘We’re to oceans what ISRO is to space’​

Matsya 6000 submersible will be tried in a harbour off Chennai with three crew members on board. If all goes as planned, in 2026, National Institute of Ocean Technology will send a crew 6,000 metres under the Indian Ocean.
The Matsya 6000 submersible will be taken to the open sea for testing with a crew on board in January 2025 | Akanksha Mishra, ThePrint

Chennai: Ramesh Raju’s New Year plans involve spending two hours underwater in a titanium-cased chamber that’s barely seven feet long. The scientist with the National Institute of Ocean Technology in Chennai is in line to be a pilot for India’s first crewed underwater mission, Samudrayaan.

Raju and 10 other scientists from NIOT have spent three years preparing for Samudrayaan, and are gearing up for their litmus test. Early next week, the 28-tonne vehicle will be tried in a harbour off Chennai with three crew members on board. And if all goes as planned, in 2026 – the same year that ISRO will launch a manned space mission – NIOT will send a crew 6,000 metres under the Indian Ocean.

“What ISRO is for space, NIOT is for the oceans,” said Dr Vedachalam N, the Project Director of Matsya 6000, the submersible that will take Raju and two other crew members to the depths of the ocean.
It’s not the claustrophobia that worries Raju. He’s more nervous about the fact that this will be the first time the submersible he has worked on for three years will be taken to the open sea for testing with a crew on board. If anything goes wrong in the harbour test, the deadlines for the other tests and the eventual launch will get pushed back, said Raju. There’s a lot riding on its success–from prestige to knowledge.

The Matsya 6000 module | Akanksha Mishra, ThePrint


The entrance to the ‘personal sphere’ of Matsya 6000 | Akanksha Mishra, ThePrint

Once successful, the Samudrayaan Mission will grant India a place in the elite league of countries that have sent humans beyond 4,500 metres into the ocean. It will herald a new chapter in deep-sea mineral exploration and scientific research. It will also benefit India’s scientific community at large, from marine biologists to mining experts to oceanographers to even climate scientists who want to study the unexplored depths of the Indian Ocean.

“The fact is that we’re the only organisation in the country that can make these submersibles. We’re the only engineering arm of the Ministry of Earth Sciences. So if not us, then who can deploy Samudrayaan?” said Vedachalam.

The implications are just as huge as the pressure. But NIOT, which has been making submersibles for three decades now, is more than ready for it.

“We’re used to handling pressure, I can assure you – whether it is the normal pressure up here or the hydraulic kind 6,000 metres down there,” he added with a laugh.

The wet test​

Every corner of NIOT’s 50 acre-campus in Chennai is abuzz with discussions on the upcoming harbour test. From the institute director’s office to the integration facility where three different teams are working together to assemble the Matsya 6000 vehicle. Louder still are the mechanical whirrs and rhythmic hums that greet people passing by the integration facility at any time of the day.

The submersible itself is imposing when observed on land. An elongated structure held up by strong iron rails, flanked by rectangular orange batteries on both sides, fitted with fans that act as propellers on the rear end, all helmed by a floating sphere with three looking glasses. People fret around the vehicle, fitting a cable here, checking a setting there.

The litihum-polymer batteries used in Matsya 6000 | Akanksha Mishra, ThePrint

“The harbour test is where it all comes together,” said Dr Ramesh Sethuraman, the head of NIOT’s Deep Sea Technology – Submersibles group at the helm of the Samudrayaan mission.

Earlier scheduled for mid-December, the Fengal cyclone and ensuing weather conditions in Chennai made it difficult for the scientists to test Matsya 6000 in the harbour. But now, after getting the nod from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), they’re finally set to lower the submersible into 15-metre-deep water in the Bay of Bengal. The first round of tests will be without a crew onboard, and then subsequently with a crew. If all goes well, the next year will see tests in 100-metre, 200-metre and 500-metre deep water too – all in the Bay of Bengal before the mission moves to its allotted Central Indian Ocean region by the end of 2026.

“We’ve been building separate parts of the submersible like the batteries or propellers or the communication systems and testing them individually,” said Sethuraman. “But the harbour test will be the first time we’ll test the integrated vehicle in the sea water, with crew members inside.”

Raju is in charge of the electronics and navigation systems in the Matsya 6000. With a little more than 20 years spent at the NIOT, he is a veritable sailor, having piloted almost 50 dives before with remote-operated vehicles (ROVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) that the Institute has launched so far. He was the top choice for piloting the Matsya 6000, and is currently preparing for his pilot traininig and medical certification tests.

“Despite my training in operating ROVs and AUVs, I’ll still need to be certified to pilot the Matsya 6000,” he explained, brushing away the compliments and congratulations that often come his way.

His colleagues, though, are confident in Raju’s skill, and more importantly in his dedication. Last October, when the institute first built a module of the human sphere for Matsya 6000, Raju and his Sethuraman personally tested it in their institute’s seven-metre-deep immersion tank, staying underwater for hours.

The ocean is not going to give you a second chance – perfection is the need of the hour.

Subramanian Annamalai, electrical department head, Matsya 6000​

On 31 October this year, Raju again tested the newly installed life support system of Matsya 6000 – the oxygen provision and CO2 removal system inside the human cabin.

The harbour test is in many ways the first milestone for Samudrayaan, not only because it’s the first time they’ll test the module in conditions that most resemble its final destination, but also because it will set the tone for the rest of the mission.

“The ocean is not going to give you a second chance – perfection is the need of the hour,” said Subramanian Annamalai, head of the electrical department for Matsya 6000.

The sailors in suits​

Balaji Ramakrishnan calls the Matsya 6000 the ‘new kid on the block’ that the whole world is watching. The formidable NIOT, which has spearheaded India’s oceanic adventures for over 31 years, had its origin in the erstwhile Department of Ocean Development at IIT Madras in the year 1993. Soon after, when the department became the Ministry of Earth Sciences, it took NIOT under its wing as an autonomous body. Today, it continues to operate as the MOES’s only technical department for ocean applications.

For many of the scientists working on Samudrayaan, the history and growth of NIOT have unfolded within their lifetimes. It’s an integral part of their personal and professional connection to the institute.

Annamalai, for instance, remembers how they had helped launch the ROSUB 6000 in 2010. It was India’s first remotely operated vehicle to go beyond a 5,000-metre depth in the Central Indian Ocean. Now, 14 years later, he will watch the launch of the first manned mission to reach 6,000-metre depth in the same region, one that is more foreign to human beings than even the moon.

“We were aboard the vessel Sagar Nidhi to launch ROSUB 6000, for what must have been about 14 days straight – with half of us seasick and the other half homesick,” joked Annamalai. “But I remember the jubilation we felt when it finally launched – to see something through from a blueprint to the actual mission is a great honour.”

The team of scientists working on Samudrayaan | Akanksha Mishra, ThePrint

Through the ROSUB 6000, autonomous underwater vehicles, polar shallow water ROVs and other vehicles designed to look for minerals, biodiversity and gas hydrates in the deep ocean, NIOT was building a roster for itself. According to its scientists, all of NIOT’s previous work in submersibles has led them to this point, where they are confident of delivering a manned submersible for India.

“If there wasn’t a human inside the mission – it would have been just any other vehicle for us. I wouldn’t call it a cakewalk but given our experience, it’s relatively easy,” said Dr Balaji Ramakrishnan, the director of NIOT. “The challenges arise because of the human element, and I can assure you that they’re being addressed deftly.”

 

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