Day 5 - The Nautile is out
4 february 2022
The Nautile, our right-hand man under water
BathyBot, the radiometer, the seismometer and the Scientific Junction Box, which will serve as their electrical and Internet connection, have been sent to the bottom. Now we must verify that the descent went well and that all these devices have landed on their target point at 2400 meters. The Nautile is the only one capable of carrying out this mission.
It's a manned submarine designed by Ifremer that can carry out observations and interventions at a depth up to 6,000 m. It has two electronic arms remotely operated from the inside by the pilot; useful to move a device that has missed its landing spot! But not only that! The Nautile is in charge of connecting all the devices down in the EMSO-WL site to the Scientific Junction Box. The assistance of the submarine is a very precious help during this mission.
Soon we will have images taken from the bottom by the Nautile!
Crédit photo : Nicolas Fromont - @nicolasfromontphoto
A dive in the Nautile
The submarine can hold a maximum of three people (a pilot, a co-pilot and a scientist) because of its small space of 2m², and breathing is done in a closed circuit thanks to a rebreather. The environment is observable from three small portholes, that said, the big blue quickly turns into a dark night. The only visible light can be the bioluminescence of some organisms. The duration of the dives is generally not supposed to exceed 6 hours. It's necessary to take into account the time required to launch the vessel, to reach the bottom and to complete the mission. But the Nautile is able to ensure the survival of the people on board for 5 days in case of a (big) problem! On board, there is food of last necessity and for the toilets, no... you don't want to know!
In this photo, we see Olivier, one of the Nautile's pilots, getting on board before a launch. To be pilot of the Nautile, you have to be in a great psychological and physical shape.
Crédit photo : Nicolas Fromont - @nicolasfromontphoto