Underwater habitats are
underwaterUnderwater is a term describing the realm below the surface of water where the water exists in a natural feature such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, or river. Three quarters of the planet Earth is covered by water. A majority of the planet's solid surface is abyssal plain, at depths between 4000...
structures in which people can live for extended periods and carry out most of the
basic human functions of a 24-hour dayA circadian rhythm is a roughly-24-hour cycle in the biochemical, physiological or behavioral processes of living entities, including plants, animals, fungi and cyanobacteria...
, such as working, resting, eating, attending to personal hygiene, and sleeping. In this context '
habitatThe term habitat has a number of meanings:* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows** Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
' is generally used in a narrow sense to mean the interior and immediate exterior of the structure and its fixtures, but not its surrounding
marine environmentAn ocean is a large body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 75% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
.
An underwater habitat has to meet the needs of human
physiologyPhysiology is the science of the functioning of living systems. It is a subcategory of biology...
and provide suitable
environmentalThe natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, is a term that encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof....
conditions, and the one which is most critical is
breathingBreathing is the process that takes oxygen in and carbon dioxide out of the body. Aerobic organisms require oxygen to release energy via respiration, in the form of the metabolism of energy-rich molecules such as glucose...
air of suitable qualityIndoor air quality is a term referring to the air quality within and around buildings and structures, especially as it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants....
. Others concern the physical environment (
pressurePressure is the force per unit area applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface of an object. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure.- Definition :...
,
temperatureIn physics, temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold; something that feels hotter generally has the higher temperature. Temperature is one of the principal parameters of thermodynamics...
,
lightLight is electromagnetic radiation, particularly radiation of a wavelength that is visible to the human eye ....
,
humidityHumidity is the amount of water vapour in the air. In daily language the term "humidity" is normally taken to mean relative humidity. Relative humidity is defined as the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapour in a parcel of air to the saturated vapour pressure of water vapour at a prescribed...
), the
chemical environmentEnvironmental chemistry is the scientific study of the chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in natural places. It should not be confused with green chemistry, which seeks to reduce potential pollution at its source...
(
drinking waterDrinking water or potable water is water of sufficiently high quality that it can be consumed or used without risk of immediate or long term harm...
,
foodFood is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be eaten or drunk by an animal, including humans, for nutrition or pleasure. Items considered food may be sourced from plants, animals or other categories such as fungus or fermented products like alcohol...
,
waste productHuman waste is a waste type usually used to refer to byproducts of digestion, such as feces and urine. Human waste is most often transported as sewage in waste water through sewerage systems. Alternatively it is disposed of in nappies in municipal solid waste.Human waste can be a serious health...
s,
toxinA toxin is a poisonous substance produced by living cells or organisms ....
s) and the
biological environmentEcology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the interactions between organisms and the interactions of these organisms with their environment....
(hazardous sea creatures, microrganisms, fungi). Much of the
scienceScience is in its broadest sense to any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome...
covering underwater habitats and their
technologyTechnology is a broad concept that deals with human as well as other animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its environment...
designed to meet human requirements is shared with
divingUnderwater diving is the practice of going underwater, either with breathing apparatus or by breath-holding .Recreational diving is a popular activity...
,
diving bellA diving bell, also known as a wet bell, is a cable-suspended airtight chamber, open at the bottom like a moon pool structure, that is lowered underwater to operate as a base or a means of transport for a small number of divers. The pressure of the water keeps the air trapped inside the bell. They...
s,
submersible vehicle***Also see Submersible drilling rig for offshore drillingA submersible is a commerical or non-military midget submarine with limited service range and is typically transported to its area of operation by a surface vessel or large submarine....
s and
submarineA submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has only limited underwater capability...
s, and
spacecraftA spacecraft is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. On a sub-orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft enters space then returns to the Earth. For an orbital spaceflight, a spacecraft enters a closed orbit around the planetary body. Spacecraft used for human spaceflight carry people on board as...
.
There have been numerous underwater habitats designed, built and used around the world since the early 1960s, either by private individuals or by
governmentA government is the body within a community, political entity or organization which has the authority to make and enforce rules, laws and regulations.....
agencies. In that time they have been used almost exclusively for
researchResearch can be defined to be search for knowledge or any systematic investigation to establish facts. The primary purpose for applied research is discovering, interpreting, and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of...
and
explorationExploration is the act of searching or traveling a terrain for the purpose of discovery, e.g. of unknown people, including space , for oil, gas, coal, ores, caves, water, , or information.Although exploration has existed as long as human beings, its peak is seen as being during the Age of Discovery...
, but in recent years at least one underwater habitat has been provided for
recreationRecreation or fun is the expenditure of time in a manner designed for therapeutic refreshment of one's body or mind. While leisure is more likely a form of entertainment or sleep, recreation is active for the participant but in a refreshing and diverting manner...
and
tourismTourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other...
. Research has been devoted particularly to the physiological processes and limits of breathing gases under pressure, for
aquanautAn Aquanaut is any individual who remains underwater, exposed to the ambient pressure, long enough to come into equilibrium with his or her breathing media. Usually this is done in an underwater habitat on the seafloor for a period equal to or greater than 24 continuous hours without returning to...
and
astronautAn astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
training, as well as for research on marine ecosystems.
Basic types of habitats
Underwater habitats are designed to operate in two fundamental modes.
- Open to ambient pressure via a moon pool
A moon pool is a feature of marine drilling platforms and drillships, some marine research and underwater exploration or research vessels, and underwater habitats, in which it is also known as a wet porch...
, meaning the air pressure inside the habitat equals underwater pressure at the same level, such as SEALAB, and which makes entry and exit easy as there is no physical barrier other than the moon pool water surface
- Closed to the sea by hatch
Hatch may refer to:* Hatching, also called "cross-hatching", an artistic technique used to create tonal or shading effects using closely spaced parallel lines* Hatching, the emergence of a young animal from an egg...
es, with internal air pressure less than ambient pressure and at or closer to atmospheric pressureAtmospheric pressure is defined as the force per unit area exerted against a surface by the weight of air above that surface at any given point in the Earth's atmosphere. In most circumstances atmospheric pressure is closely approximated by the hydrostatic pressure caused by the weight of air above...
; entry or exit to the sea requires passing through hatches and an airlockAn airlock is a device which permits the passage of people and objects between a pressure vessel and its surroundings while minimizing the change of pressure in the vessel and loss of air from it...
A third or composite type has compartments of both types within the same habitat structure and connected via airlocks, such as
Aquarius (laboratory)Aquarius is an underwater habitat located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It is one of the few underwater research facilities in the world dedicated to science...
.
Conshelf I, II and III
Conshelf, short for Continental Shelf Station, was a series of undersea living and research stations undertaken by Jacques Cousteau's team in the 1960s. The original design was for five of these stations to be submerged to a maximum depth of 300m over the decade; in reality only three were completed with a maximum depth of 100m. Much of the work was funded in part by the French Petrochemical industry, who, along with Cousteau, hoped that such manned colonies could serve as base stations for the future exploitation of the sea. Such colonies did not find a productive future, however, as Cousteau later repudiated his support for such exploitation of the sea and put his efforts toward conservation. It was also found in later years that industrial tasks underwater could be more efficiently performed by undersea robot devices and men operating from the surface or from smaller lowered structures, made possible by a more advanced understanding of diving physiology. Still, these three undersea living experiments did much to advance man's knowledge of undersea technology and physiology, and were valuable as "
proof of conceptProof of concept is a short and/or incomplete realization of a certain method or idea to demonstrate its feasibility, or a demonstration in principle, whose purpose is to verify that some concept or theory is probably capable of exploitation in a useful manner...
" constructs. They also did much to publicize oceanographic research and, ironically, usher in an age of ocean conservation through building public awareness. Along with Sealab and others, it spawned a generation of smaller, less ambitious yet longer-term undersea habitats primarily for marine research purposes. (See below)
Conshelf I (Continental Shelf Station), constructed in 1962 was the first inhabited underwater habitat. Developed by
Jacques-Yves CousteauJacques-Yves Cousteau was a French naval officer, explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water...
to record basic observations of life underwater, Conshelf I was submerged in 10 metres of water near Marseilles, and the first experiment involved a team of two spending seven days in the habitat. The two oceanauts, Albert Falco and Claude Wesly, were expected to spend at least five hours a day outside of the station, and were subject to daily medical exams. They were among the first to breath a mixture of
heliumHelium is the chemical element with atomic number 2, and is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
and
oxygenOxygen Oxygen Oxygen (acid, literally "sharp", from the taste of acids) and -γενής (-genēs) (producer, literally begetter) is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O...
, avoiding the normal
nitrogenNitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N and atomic number 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78% by volume of Earth's atmosphere.Many industrially important...
/oxygen mixture which when breathed under pressure can cause temporary mental instability. This was also an early effort in
saturation divingSaturation diving is a diving technique that allows divers to remain at great depth for long periods of time."Saturation" refers to the fact that the diver's tissues have absorbed the maximum partial pressure of gas possible for that depth due to the diver being exposed to breathing gas at that...
, in which the oceanauts' body tissues were allowed to become totally saturated by the helium in the breathing mixture, a result of breathing the gases under pressure. Normally, this would prove fatal when the team returned to the surface, at which time reduced pressure would cause the helium to bubble out into the divers joints and tissues, afflicting them with
the bendsDecompression sickness describes a condition arising from the precipitation of dissolved gasses into bubbles inside the body on depressurisation...
. The conventional solution would have been to subject the divers to lengthy and complex decompression; however, in this case the divers' instead breathed an oxygen-rich mixture of gases for a few hours before returning to the surface in order to purge the excess helium from their tissues. They suffered no apparent ill effects.
Conshelf TwoContinental Shelf Station Two or Conshelf Two was an attempt at creating an environment in which men could live and work on the sea floor.Six oceanauts lived 10 meters down in the Red Sea, at Sha’ab Rumi off Sudan, in a starfish-shaped house for 30 days...
, the first ambitious attempt for men to live and work on the sea floor, was launched in 1963. In it, a half-dozen oceanauts lived 10 meters down in the
Red SeaThe Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez,...
off
SudanSudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa and in the Arab World, and tenth largest in the world by area...
in a starfish-shaped house for 30 days. The undersea living experiment also had two other structures, one a submarine hangar that housed a small, two man
submarineA submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has only limited underwater capability...
referred to as the "diving saucer" for its resemblance to a science fiction flying saucer, and a smaller "deep cabin" where two oceanauts lived at a depth of 30 meters for a week. The undersea colony was supported with air, water, food, power, all essentials of life, from a large support team above. Men on the bottom performed a number of experiments intended to determine the practicality of working on the sea floor and were subjected to continual medical examinations. Conshelf II was a defining effort in the study of diving physiology and technology, and captured wide public appeal due to its dramatic "
Jules VerneJules Gabriel Verne was a French author who helped pioneer the science-fiction genre. He is best known for his novels A Journey to the Center of the Earth , From the Earth to the Moon , Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea , Around the World in Eighty Days and The Mysterious Island...
" look and feel. A Cousteau-produced feature film about the effort was awarded an Academy Award for Best Documentary the following year.
Conshelf III was tested in 1965, six divers lived in the habitat at 100 metres (328 feet) in the Mediterranean near the Cap Ferrat lighthouse, between Nice and Monaco, for three weeks. In this effort, Cousteau was determined to make the station more self-sufficient, severing most ties with the surface. A mock
oil rigAn offshore platform, often referred to as an oil platform or an oil rig, is a large structure used to house workers and machinery needed to drill wells in the ocean bed, extract oil and/or natural gas, process the produced fluids, and ship or pipe them to shore...
was set up underwater, and divers successfully performed several industrial tasks.
SEALAB I, II and III
SEALAB was developed by the
United States NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
, primarily to research the physiological aspects of
saturation divingSaturation diving is a diving technique that allows divers to remain at great depth for long periods of time."Saturation" refers to the fact that the diver's tissues have absorbed the maximum partial pressure of gas possible for that depth due to the diver being exposed to breathing gas at that...
.
Tektite I and II
The
Tektite underwater habitatThe Tektite habitat was an underwater laboratory which was the home to divers during Tektite I and II programs. The Tektite program was the first scientists-in-the-sea sponsored nationally. The habitat capsule was placed in Great Lameshur Bay, Saint John, U.S...
was constructed by
General ElectricThe General Electric Company, or GE , is a multinational American technology and services conglomerate incorporated in the State of New York. In 2009, Forbes ranked GE as the world's largest company...
and was funded by
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
, the
Office of Naval ResearchThe Office of Naval Research , headquartered in Arlington, Virginia , is the office within the United States Department of the Navy that coordinates, executes, and promotes the science and technology programs of the U.S...
and the Department of Interior.
On February 15, 1969, four U. S. Department of Interior scientists (Ed Clifton, Conrad Mahnken, Richard Waller and John VanDerwalker) descended to the ocean floor in Great Lameshur Bay in the U. S. Virgin Islands to begin an ambitious diving project dubbed "Tektite I". By March 18, 1969, the four aquanauts had established a new world's record for
saturated divingSaturation diving is a diving technique that allows divers to remain at great depth for long periods of time."Saturation" refers to the fact that the diver's tissues have absorbed the maximum partial pressure of gas possible for that depth due to the diver being exposed to breathing gas at that...
by a single team. On April 15, 1969, the aquanaut team returned to the surface with over 58 days of marine scientific studies. More than 19 hours of
decompressionDecompression has several meanings:* in physics: the release of pressure and is the opposition of physical compression* in medicine and aviation: decompression sickness...
therapy were needed to accommodate the scientist's return to the surface.
Inspired, in part by NASA's budding
SkylabSkylab was the United States' first space station, and the second space station visited by a human crew. It was also the only space station NASA launched alone...
program and an interest in better understanding the effectiveness of scientists working under extremely isolated living conditions, Tektite was the first saturation diving project to employ scientists rather than professional divers.
The name
TektiteTektites are natural glass rocks up to a few centimeters in size, which most scientists argue were formed by the impact of large meteorites on Earth's surface. Tektites are typically black or olive-green, and their shape varies from rounded to irregular.Tektites are among the "driest" rocks, with...
generally refers to a class of meteorites formed by extremely rapid cooling. These include objects of celestial origins that strike the sea surface and come to rest on the bottom (note project Tektite's conceptual origins within the US space program).
The Tektite II missions were carried out in 1970. Tektite II comprised ten missions lasting 10-20 days with four scientists and an engineer on each mission. One of these missions included the first all-female aquanaut team, led by Dr.
Sylvia Earle MeadDr. Sylvia Earle is an American oceanographer. She was chief scientist for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from 1990-1992. She is a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, sometimes called "Her Deepness" or "The Sturgeon General".-Early Life and Education :Sylvia Alice...
. Other scientists participating in the all-female mission included Dr. Renate True of Tulane, as well as Ann Hartline and Alina Szmant, graduate students at Scripps Institute of Oceanography. The fifth member of the crew was Margaret Ann Lucas, a Villanova engineering graduate, who served as Habitat Engineer. The Tektite II missions were the first to undertake in-depth ecological studies.
The
Tektite habitatThe Tektite habitat was an underwater laboratory which was the home to divers during Tektite I and II programs. The Tektite program was the first scientists-in-the-sea sponsored nationally. The habitat capsule was placed in Great Lameshur Bay, Saint John, U.S...
was designed and built by General Electric Space Division at the Valley Forge Space Technology Center in
King of Prussia, PennsylvaniaKing of Prussia is an unincorporated community in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2000 census, its population was 18,511. The community took its name in the 18th century from a local tavern named "The King of Prussia Inn", which was named for...
. The Project Engineer who was responsible for the design of the habitat was Brooks Tenney, Jr. Brooks also served as the underwater Habitat Engineer on the International Mission, the last mission on the Tektite II project. The Program Manager for the Tektite I project at General Electric was Bren Thompson, and the Program Manager for the Tektite II project was Brooks Tenney, Jr.
The Tektite Project was led by Dr. Theodore Marton who worked for General Electric.
Hydrolab
Hydrolab was constructed in 1966 and used as a research station from 1970, the project was in part funded by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...
(NOAA). Hydrolab could house 4 people. Approximately 180 Hydrolab missions were conducted; 100 missions in the Bahamas during the early to mid 1970s, and 80 missions in St. Croix,
United States Virgin IslandsThe United States Virgin Islands is a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...
, from 1977 to 1985. These scientific missions are chronicled in the
Hydrolab Journal.
Dr.
William FifeColonel William Paul "Bill" Fife USAF was a United States Air Force officer that first proved the feasibility for U.S. Air Force Security Service airborne Communications Intelligence collection and Fife is considered the "Father of Airborne Intercept"...
spent 28 days in saturation performing
physiologyPhysiology is the science of the functioning of living systems. It is a subcategory of biology...
experiments on researchers such as Dr.
Sylvia EarleDr. Sylvia Earle is an American oceanographer. She was chief scientist for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from 1990-1992. She is a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, sometimes called "Her Deepness" or "The Sturgeon General".-Early Life and Education :Sylvia Alice...
.
The habitat was decommissioned in 1985 and placed on display at the Smithsonian Institution’s
National History MuseumThe National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.. Admission is free and the museum is open 364 days a year....
in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
. The habitat is now located at the headquarters of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Silver Spring, MD.
Aquarius
- See main article Aquarius
Aquarius is an underwater habitat located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It is one of the few underwater research facilities in the world dedicated to science...
.
Aquarius is presently one of the world's only operational underwater laboratories. It is located adjacent to a coral reef in the
Florida Keys National Marine SanctuaryThe Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is a U.S. National Marine Sanctuary in the Florida Keys. It includes the only barrier coral reef in North America and the third-largest coral barrier reef in the world. It also has extensive mangrove forest and seagrass fields...
.
MarineLab
The MarineLab
http://mrdf.org/mul.htm underwater laboratory is the longest serving seafloor habitat in history, having operated continuously in an unbroken service since 1984 under the direction of
aquanautAn Aquanaut is any individual who remains underwater, exposed to the ambient pressure, long enough to come into equilibrium with his or her breathing media. Usually this is done in an underwater habitat on the seafloor for a period equal to or greater than 24 continuous hours without returning to...
Chris Olstad
http://mrdf.org/mlstaff.htm at
Key LargoKey Largo is an island in the upper Florida Keys archipelago and, at long, the largest of the Keys. It is also the northernmost of the Florida Keys in Monroe County, and the northernmost of the Keys connected by U.S. Highway 1...
, Florida. The seafloor laboratory has trained hundreds of individuals in that time featuring an extensive array of educational and scientific investigations from US Military investigations to pharmaceutical development.
Beginning with a project initiated in 1973, MarineLab, then known as MEDUSA (Midshipman Engineered & Designed Undersea Systems Apparatus), was designed and built as part of an ocean engineering student program at the United States Naval Academy under the direction of Dr. Neil T. Monney. In 1983, MEDUSA was donated to the Marine Resources Development Foundation (MRDF), and in 1984 was deployed on the seafloor in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Key Largo, Florida. The 8 X 16 - foot (2.5 X 4.9m) shore-supported habitat supports 3-4 persons and is divided into a laboratory, a wet-room, and a 5’ 6” (1.7m) transparent observation sphere. From the beginning, it has been used by students for observation, research, and instruction. In 1985, it was renamed MarineLab and moved to the 30-foot (9.2m) deep mangrove lagoon at MRDF headquarters in Key Largo at a depth of 27 foot (8.3m) with a hatch depth of 20 feet (6.2m). The lagoon contains artifacts and wrecks placed there for education and training. During 1993-95, NASA used MarineLab repeatedly to study Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems (CELLS). These education and research programs qualify MARINE-LAB as the world’s most extensively used habitat.
MarineLab is also used as an underwater hotel for tourists when not in use for scientific experiments. Features include a large movie selection and specialty menus, including underwater pizza delivered by a diver. Hotel guests must dive to get down to the hotel, and a nearby landbase offers diving lessons for people who are unfamiliar with the activity.
La Chalupa Research Laboratory
In the early 1970s, Ian Koblick, president of Marine Resources Development Foundation, developed and operated the La Chalupa research laboratory, which was the largest and most technologically advanced underwater habitat of its time. Koblick, who has continued his work as a pioneer in developing advanced undersea programs for ocean science and education, is the co-author of the book "Living and Working in the Sea" and is considered one of the foremost authorities on undersea habitation.
In the mid 1980s La Chalupa was transformed into
Jules Undersea LodgeThe Jules Undersea Lodge is an underwater hotel in Key Largo, Florida and is the only such hotel in the United States. It is 30 feet deep on the ocean floor and guests have to scuba dive to get to their rooms. The hotel is located at the bottom of the Emerald Lagoon and was opened in 1986. The...
. Jules' co-developer Dr. Neil Monney formerly served as Professor and Director of Ocean Engineering at the U.S. Naval Academy, and has extensive experience as a research scientist,
aquanautAn Aquanaut is any individual who remains underwater, exposed to the ambient pressure, long enough to come into equilibrium with his or her breathing media. Usually this is done in an underwater habitat on the seafloor for a period equal to or greater than 24 continuous hours without returning to...
, and designer of underwater habitats.
Jules' has had over 10,000 overnight guests in its 20 years of operation.
Scott Carpenter Space Analog Station
The
Scott Carpenter Space Analog StationThe Scott Carpenter Space Analog Station was designed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA as a seafloor research station—or underwater habitat. It was designed by NASA Aquanaut, Dennis Chamberland and Marine Engineer, Joseph M. Bishop and named in honor of the Mercury...
was launched near Key Largo on six week missions in 1997 and 1998. The station was a NASA project illustrating the analogous science and engineering concepts common to both undersea and space missions. During the missions, some 20 aquanauts rotated through the undersea station including NASA scientists, engineers and director
James CameronJames Francis Cameron is a Canadian film director, producer and screenwriter. His writing and directing work includes The Terminator and Titanic. To date, his directorial efforts have grossed approximately US$1.1 billion domestically, unadjusted for inflation...
. The SCSAS was designed by NASA engineer
Dennis Chamberland-Career:Dennis Chamberland, an aquanaut and Mission Commander for seven NASA underwater missions, designed and built the Scott Carpenter Space Analog Station underwater habitat...
.
In popular culture
- The Abyss
The Abyss is a 1989 science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron. It stars Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn. The original musical score was composed by Alan Silvestri...
, a 1989 movie that takes place in an underwater habitat.
- Ocean Girl
Ocean Girl is an Australian science fiction television series aimed for family audiences and starring Marzena Godecki as the lead character...
an Australian series that features a massive underwater research facility called ORCA.
- Diving Adventure
Diving Adventure is a 1970 children's book by the Canadian-born American author Willard Price featuring his "Adventure" series characters, Hal and Roger Hunt. It depicts their exploits in a futuristic underwater city....
, a novel by author Willard PriceWillard DeMille Price was a Canadian-born American natural historian and author of children's fiction.Price was born in Peterborough, Ontario, and his family subsequently moved to the United States when he was four. He acquired his MA and Litt.D from Columbia University, before going on to edit...
, features an Undersea City clearly inspired by Cousteau's underwater habitat projects.
- Bioshock
BioShock is a first-person shooter video game, developed by 2K Boston/2K Australia—previously known as Irrational Games—designed by Ken Levine. It was released for the Windows operating system and Xbox 360 video game console on August 21, 2007, in North America, and three days later in Europe and...
, a video game that takes place in Rapture, a secretly-built underwater city.
- Champions Online
Champions Online is a subscription-based, superhero-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game by former City of Heroes/Villains developer Cryptic Studios based on the Champions license. The game has been released for Microsoft Windows and the game is also tentatively being developed for...
, an MMORPGMassively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of computer role-playing games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
featuring an underwater city called Lumeria
- Deus Ex
Deus Ex is a cyberpunk-themed action role-playing game developed by Ion Storm Inc. and published by Eidos Interactive in the year 2000, which combines gameplay elements of first-person shooters with those of role playing games...
, a video game, features an underwater research laboratory called OceanLab.
- Sealab 2020
Sealab 2020 is an American animated television series, produced by Hanna-Barbera.The series is about an underwater research base and has an environmental theme. The series premiered on the television network NBC on September 9,1972...
, an animated series from the 1970s, takes place in a fictional underwater research lab, as does Cartoon Network's reworking of the show, Sealab 2021Sealab 2021 is an American animated television series. It was shown on Cartoon Network's adult-oriented programming block, Adult Swim. It premiered on December 21, 2000 and the final episode aired on April 25, 2005...
.
- Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is a 1960s American Science Fiction television series based on the 1961 film of the same name. Both were created by Irwin Allen, which enabled the movie's sets, costumes, props, special effects models, and sometimes footage, to be used in the production of the...
- SeaQuest DSV
seaQuest DSV is an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon. It originally aired on NBC between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, it was renamed seaQuest 2032....
featured numerous underwater colonies, research facilities, and military installations.
- Sphere
Sphere is a science fiction novel written by Michael Crichton and published in 1987. It was made into the film Sphere in 1998.The novel is about a psychologist named Norman Johnson, who is engaged by the United States Navy to join a team of scientists assembled by the U.S. Government to examine an...
, a novel that takes place in an underwater habitat.
- Various episodes of the BBC educational series Science In Action featured an Underwater Habitat that could house a U-Boat.
- In The Spy Who Loved Me
The Spy Who Loved Me is the tenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and the screenplay was written by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum...
, the film's villain, Karl Stromberg, lives in an underwater fortress.
- The TV series Stingray
Stingray is a children's marionette television show, created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and produced by AP Films for ATV and ITC Entertainment from 1964-65. Its 39 half-hour episodes were originally screened on ITV in the UK and in syndication in the USA...
featured an underwater complex.
- Lost
Lost is an American serial drama television series. It follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, after a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney, Australia, and Los Angeles, United States, crashes somewhere in the South Pacific...
, a building known as the Looking Glass is an underwater station built by the Dharma InitiativeThe Dharma Initiative, also written DHARMA , is a fictional research project featured in the television series Lost. It is introduced in the second season episode "Orientation". In 2008, the Dharma Initiative website was launched. 'Dharma' is Sanskrit and is used in Hinduism...
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- Ever 17, A game that tells the story of seven people who are trapped in an underwater theme park (LeMU) and their struggle to escape.
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