WEBVTT 00:00:00.720 --> 00:00:04.215 David Biello: So Victor, what have you been up to? NOTE Paragraph 00:00:05.164 --> 00:00:07.790 Victor Vescovo: That's the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, 00:00:07.790 --> 00:00:10.692 and I guess I read too much Jules Verne as a young boy, 00:00:10.692 --> 00:00:14.700 and so for the last four years I've led a team to design and build 00:00:14.700 --> 00:00:16.088 what is now the most advanced 00:00:16.088 --> 00:00:18.207 and deepest diving submersible on the planet, 00:00:18.207 --> 00:00:20.854 and I have the ability to personally pilot it too. 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:23.243 So this was us in December of last year 00:00:23.243 --> 00:00:24.355 for the first time -- 00:00:24.355 --> 00:00:25.943 the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:25.943 --> 00:00:27.936 DB: And nobody's seen that before right? 00:00:27.936 --> 00:00:28.938 That's just you. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:28.938 --> 00:00:29.836 VV: No -- 00:00:29.836 --> 00:00:31.243 well, now everybody else. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:31.243 --> 00:00:33.105 DB: Who does that? 00:00:33.450 --> 00:00:34.795 Like -- NOTE Paragraph 00:00:34.795 --> 00:00:38.660 VV: Well, I think everyone has seen the developments in the last 10,15 years. 00:00:38.660 --> 00:00:41.982 You have a bunch of people that have the means to explore outer space, 00:00:41.982 --> 00:00:44.303 like SpaceX or Blue Origin -- 00:00:44.303 --> 00:00:45.296 those guys -- 00:00:45.296 --> 00:00:47.024 and we're going the other direction. 00:00:47.024 --> 00:00:48.156 So it's a wonderful era 00:00:48.156 --> 00:00:50.383 of private individuals spending their resources 00:00:50.383 --> 00:00:53.019 to develop technologies that can take us to places 00:00:53.019 --> 00:00:54.799 that have never been explored before, 00:00:54.799 --> 00:00:57.095 and the oceans of the world is -- 00:00:57.095 --> 00:01:00.857 it's almost a cliché to say it's 70 percent of our entire planet, 00:01:00.857 --> 00:01:02.946 and of that, 95 percent is unexplored. 00:01:03.164 --> 00:01:05.586 So what we're trying to do with our expedition 00:01:05.586 --> 00:01:07.736 is to build and prove out a submersible 00:01:07.736 --> 00:01:10.360 that can go to any point on the bottom of the planet 00:01:10.360 --> 00:01:14.413 to explore the 60 percent of this planet that is still unexplored. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:15.452 --> 00:01:17.809 DB: You need a pretty cool tool to do that, right? NOTE Paragraph 00:01:17.809 --> 00:01:18.810 VV: Right. 00:01:18.810 --> 00:01:21.502 Now the tool is the submarine the Limiting Factor. 00:01:21.502 --> 00:01:23.152 It's a state-of-the-art vessel 00:01:23.152 --> 00:01:25.490 supported by the support ship, the Pressure Drop. 00:01:25.753 --> 00:01:27.564 It has a two-person titanium sphere, 00:01:27.564 --> 00:01:28.613 90 milimeters-thick, 00:01:28.613 --> 00:01:30.138 that keeps it at one atmosphere, 00:01:30.138 --> 00:01:32.732 and it has the ability to dive repeatedly 00:01:32.732 --> 00:01:35.130 down to the very deepest point of the ocean. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:35.331 --> 00:01:39.455 DB: So like the SpaceX of ocean exploration? NOTE Paragraph 00:01:39.455 --> 00:01:42.049 VV: Yeah, it's kind of the SpaceX of ocean exploration, 00:01:42.049 --> 00:01:43.400 but I pilot my own vehicles. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:44.073 --> 00:01:45.653 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:01:45.653 --> 00:01:48.129 DB: Are you going to take Elon or...? NOTE Paragraph 00:01:48.768 --> 00:01:50.778 VV: Yeah, I could take someone down there. 00:01:50.778 --> 00:01:52.619 So, Elon, I don't if you're listening, 00:01:52.619 --> 00:01:55.486 I'll give you a ride in mine if you give me a ride in yours. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:55.486 --> 00:01:57.316 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:01:58.176 --> 00:02:00.939 DB: So tell us what it's like down there. 00:02:00.939 --> 00:02:04.281 I mean, we're talking about a place where the pressure is so intense 00:02:04.281 --> 00:02:06.901 that it's like putting an Eiffel Tower on your toe. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:06.901 --> 00:02:08.100 VV: It's more than that. 00:02:08.100 --> 00:02:09.335 It's about 16,000 psi. 00:02:09.673 --> 00:02:12.098 So the issue is we have this titanium sphere 00:02:12.098 --> 00:02:14.512 that allows us to go down to these extreme depths 00:02:14.512 --> 00:02:15.820 and come up repeatedly. 00:02:16.197 --> 00:02:17.638 That's never been done before. 00:02:17.638 --> 00:02:19.853 The Challenger Deep has been dived twice, 00:02:19.853 --> 00:02:23.157 once in 1960 and once in 2012 by James Cameron, 00:02:23.157 --> 00:02:24.837 and they went down and came back up 00:02:24.837 --> 00:02:26.465 and those were experimental craft. 00:02:26.465 --> 00:02:28.998 This is the first commercially certified submersible 00:02:28.998 --> 00:02:32.265 that can go up and down thousands of times with two people, 00:02:32.265 --> 00:02:33.324 including a scientist. 00:02:33.324 --> 00:02:34.324 We're very proud 00:02:34.324 --> 00:02:37.510 that we just took down the deepest-diving British citizen in history 00:02:37.510 --> 00:02:38.543 just three weeks ago, 00:02:38.543 --> 00:02:40.499 Dr. Alan Jamieson of Newcastle University 00:02:40.499 --> 00:02:42.776 who was down with us on the Java Trench. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:43.358 --> 00:02:47.415 DB: So not too much freaks you out is what I'm guessing. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:48.040 --> 00:02:50.170 VV: Well, it's a lot different to go diving. 00:02:50.372 --> 00:02:53.367 If you're claustrophobic you do not want to be in the submarine. 00:02:53.367 --> 00:02:54.685 We go down quite a distance 00:02:54.685 --> 00:02:58.091 and the missions typically last eight to nine hours in a confined space. 00:02:58.091 --> 00:03:00.556 It's very different from the career I had previously 00:03:00.556 --> 00:03:03.509 which was mountain climbing where you're in large, open spaces, 00:03:03.509 --> 00:03:04.515 the wind is whipping, 00:03:04.515 --> 00:03:05.515 it's very, very cold. 00:03:05.515 --> 00:03:06.515 This is the opposite. 00:03:06.515 --> 00:03:07.732 It's much more technical. 00:03:07.732 --> 00:03:10.365 It's much more about precision and using the instruments 00:03:10.365 --> 00:03:12.565 and troubleshooting anything that can go wrong. 00:03:12.565 --> 00:03:15.518 But actually if something really goes wrong in the submersible, 00:03:15.518 --> 00:03:16.850 you're not going to know it. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:16.850 --> 00:03:17.849 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:03:17.849 --> 00:03:20.327 DB: So you're afraid of leaks is what you're saying. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:20.327 --> 00:03:21.434 VV: Leaks are not good, 00:03:21.434 --> 00:03:23.150 but if it's a leak that's happening, 00:03:23.150 --> 00:03:24.625 well at least it's not that bad 00:03:24.625 --> 00:03:27.625 because if it was really bad you wouldn't know it, again but -- 00:03:27.625 --> 00:03:29.077 you know, fire in the capsule, 00:03:29.077 --> 00:03:30.522 that wouldn't be good either, 00:03:30.522 --> 00:03:32.961 but no, it's actually a very, very safe submersible. 00:03:32.961 --> 00:03:35.425 I like to say I don't trust a lot of things in life, 00:03:35.425 --> 00:03:36.577 but I do trust titanium, 00:03:36.577 --> 00:03:37.579 I trust math 00:03:37.579 --> 00:03:39.299 and I trust Finite Element Analysis, 00:03:39.299 --> 00:03:40.596 which is how you figure out 00:03:40.596 --> 00:03:42.620 whether or not things like this can survive 00:03:42.620 --> 00:03:44.851 these extraordinary pressures and conditions. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:44.851 --> 00:03:47.359 DB: And that sphere is so perfectly machined, right? 00:03:47.359 --> 00:03:48.962 This is a truly unique craft. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:49.137 --> 00:03:50.587 VV: That was the real trick -- 00:03:50.587 --> 00:03:52.464 is actually building a titanium sphere 00:03:52.464 --> 00:03:55.504 that was accurate to within .1 percent of machine. 00:03:55.504 --> 00:03:56.989 Titanium is a hard mill to work 00:03:56.989 --> 00:03:58.996 and a lot of people haven't figured it out, 00:03:58.996 --> 00:04:00.285 but we were very fortunate. 00:04:00.285 --> 00:04:02.335 I've been working with an extraordinary team 00:04:02.335 --> 00:04:04.527 that was able to make an almost perfect sphere, 00:04:04.527 --> 00:04:06.913 which when you're subjecting something to pressure, 00:04:06.913 --> 00:04:08.913 that's the strongest geometry you can have. 00:04:08.913 --> 00:04:11.243 When I'm in the submersible and that hatch closes, 00:04:11.243 --> 00:04:12.677 I actually feel very confident 00:04:12.677 --> 00:04:14.693 that I'm going to go down and come back up. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:14.693 --> 00:04:16.800 DB: And that's the thing you double-check -- 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:17.991 that the hatch is closed? NOTE Paragraph 00:04:17.991 --> 00:04:20.393 VV: There are only two rules in diving a submarine. 00:04:20.393 --> 00:04:22.259 Number one is close the hatch securely. 00:04:22.259 --> 00:04:24.254 Number two is go back to rule number one. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:24.254 --> 00:04:25.758 DB: Alright so, Atlantic Ocean: 00:04:25.758 --> 00:04:26.758 check. 00:04:26.758 --> 00:04:28.017 Southern Ocean: 00:04:28.017 --> 00:04:29.019 check -- NOTE Paragraph 00:04:29.019 --> 00:04:31.482 VV: No one has ever dived the Southern Ocean before. 00:04:31.482 --> 00:04:32.478 I know why. 00:04:32.478 --> 00:04:33.822 It's really, really hostile. 00:04:33.822 --> 00:04:35.085 The weather is awful. 00:04:35.085 --> 00:04:37.085 The word collision comes to mind. 00:04:37.302 --> 00:04:38.843 But we did that one, yes. 00:04:39.139 --> 00:04:40.211 Glad that's over -- NOTE Paragraph 00:04:40.211 --> 00:04:41.209 DB: Yeah -- NOTE Paragraph 00:04:41.209 --> 00:04:42.207 VV: Thank you NOTE Paragraph 00:04:42.207 --> 00:04:43.213 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:04:43.213 --> 00:04:45.215 DB: It's like you're racing through it. 00:04:45.215 --> 00:04:46.472 And now the Indian Ocean, 00:04:46.472 --> 00:04:47.679 as Kelly mentioned. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:47.679 --> 00:04:49.363 VV: Yeah, that was three weeks ago. 00:04:49.363 --> 00:04:51.938 We were fortunate enough to actually solve the mystery. 00:04:51.938 --> 00:04:53.913 If someone had asked me three weeks ago, 00:04:53.913 --> 00:04:56.386 "What is the deepest point in the Indian Ocean?" 00:04:56.386 --> 00:04:57.618 no one really knew. 00:04:57.618 --> 00:04:58.957 There were two candidates, 00:04:58.957 --> 00:05:01.633 one off of Western Australia and one in the Java Trench. 00:05:01.633 --> 00:05:04.017 We have this wonderful ship with a brilliant sonar. 00:05:04.017 --> 00:05:05.118 We mapped both of them. 00:05:05.118 --> 00:05:07.534 We sent landers down to the bottom and verified, 00:05:07.534 --> 00:05:10.137 it's actually in the center portion of the Java Trench, 00:05:10.137 --> 00:05:12.054 which is where no one thought it was. 00:05:12.054 --> 00:05:14.825 In fact, every time we've completed one of our major dives, 00:05:14.825 --> 00:05:17.120 we have to run off to Wikipedia and change it 00:05:17.120 --> 00:05:18.621 because it's completely wrong. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:18.621 --> 00:05:19.621 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:05:20.424 --> 00:05:23.526 DB: So it probably takes longer to get down there 00:05:23.526 --> 00:05:25.677 than the time you're able to spend down there? NOTE Paragraph 00:05:25.908 --> 00:05:28.664 VV: No, we actually spend quite a bit of time. 00:05:28.965 --> 00:05:31.440 I have four days of oxygen supply in the vessel. 00:05:31.653 --> 00:05:33.239 If I'm down there for four days, 00:05:33.239 --> 00:05:36.021 something's gone so wrong I'm probably not going to use it, 00:05:36.021 --> 00:05:39.005 but it about three-hours down to the deepest part of the ocean 00:05:39.005 --> 00:05:41.566 and then we can spend usually three or four hours 00:05:41.566 --> 00:05:43.121 and then another three hours up. 00:05:43.121 --> 00:05:46.124 So you don't want to stay in there for more than 10 or 11 hours. 00:05:46.124 --> 00:05:47.417 It can get a little tight. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:47.417 --> 00:05:49.604 DB: Alright, so the bottom of the Indian Ocean, 00:05:49.604 --> 00:05:54.286 and this is something that no one besides you has ever seen before -- NOTE Paragraph 00:05:54.286 --> 00:05:58.200 VV: This is actually imagery from one of our robotic landers. 00:05:58.200 --> 00:06:01.010 On the bottom-right you can actually see a robust assfish -- 00:06:01.010 --> 00:06:02.728 that's what it's actually called -- NOTE Paragraph 00:06:02.728 --> 00:06:03.731 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:06:03.731 --> 00:06:07.081 but you can see from the left a creature that's never been seen before. 00:06:07.081 --> 00:06:10.293 It's actually a bottom-dwelling jellyfish called a stalked ascidian, 00:06:10.293 --> 00:06:12.677 and none of them have ever looked like this before. 00:06:12.677 --> 00:06:15.368 It actually has a small child at the bottom of its stalk, 00:06:15.368 --> 00:06:17.522 and it just drifted across beautifully. 00:06:17.713 --> 00:06:20.310 So every single dive we have gone on, 00:06:20.310 --> 00:06:22.934 even though we're only down there for a couple of hours, 00:06:22.934 --> 00:06:24.845 we have found three or four new species 00:06:24.845 --> 00:06:28.141 because these are places that have been isolated for billions of years 00:06:28.141 --> 00:06:31.609 and no human being has ever been down there to film them 00:06:31.609 --> 00:06:32.736 or take samples. 00:06:32.736 --> 00:06:34.576 And so this is extraordinary for us -- NOTE Paragraph 00:06:34.576 --> 00:06:37.074 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:06:37.074 --> 00:06:38.382 So what we are hoping -- 00:06:38.382 --> 00:06:41.512 the main objective of our mission is to build this tool. 00:06:41.737 --> 00:06:43.340 This tool is a door, 00:06:43.340 --> 00:06:44.646 because with this tool, 00:06:44.646 --> 00:06:46.824 we'll be able to make more of them potentially 00:06:46.824 --> 00:06:49.270 and take scientists down to do thousands of dives 00:06:49.270 --> 00:06:51.466 to open that door to exploration 00:06:51.466 --> 00:06:54.153 and find things that we had no idea even existed. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:54.759 --> 00:06:59.511 DB: And so more people have been to space than the bottom of the ocean. 00:06:59.646 --> 00:07:01.064 You're one of three. 00:07:01.246 --> 00:07:02.845 You're going to up that number, 00:07:02.845 --> 00:07:04.254 you're going to give it away. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:04.254 --> 00:07:07.527 VV: Yeah, three people have dived to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. 00:07:07.527 --> 00:07:09.531 [The Trieste] in 1960 with two individuals, 00:07:09.531 --> 00:07:12.088 James Cameron in 2012 with his Deep Sea Challenger -- 00:07:12.088 --> 00:07:13.085 thank you, Jim, 00:07:13.085 --> 00:07:14.087 great sub. 00:07:14.087 --> 00:07:15.904 This is a third-generation technology. 00:07:15.904 --> 00:07:17.813 We're not only going to try and go down, 00:07:17.813 --> 00:07:18.873 actually in two weeks, 00:07:18.873 --> 00:07:21.119 but we're going to try and do it multiple times, 00:07:21.119 --> 00:07:22.687 which has never been done before. 00:07:22.687 --> 00:07:23.687 If we can do that, 00:07:23.687 --> 00:07:25.236 we'll have proven the technology 00:07:25.236 --> 00:07:26.978 and that door will not just go open, 00:07:26.978 --> 00:07:27.979 it will stay open. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:27.979 --> 00:07:30.816 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:07:30.816 --> 00:07:31.821 DB: Fantastic. 00:07:31.821 --> 00:07:32.820 Good luck. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:32.820 --> 00:07:34.015 VV: Thank you very much. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:34.015 --> 00:07:35.019 DB: Thank you. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:35.019 --> 00:07:36.024 VV: Thank you all. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:36.024 --> 00:07:37.473 (Applause)