This article explores the pioneering work of Captain George Bond, a Navy medical officer who dreamed of humans living and working on the ocean floor. Driven by a belief in the ocean's untapped potential, Bond led the Navy's 'Man-In-The-Sea' program, developing saturation diving techniques and constructing underwater habitats like Sealab I and II. Bond's vision, while overshadowed by the space race, laid the groundwork for future deep-sea exploration and industrial operations.
Undersea agriculture. Deep sea mining. Human colonies on the ocean floor. These were the dreams of Capt. George Bond, a Navy medical officer.
Bond began testing his theory with laboratory experiments on animals and, eventually, humans. After a series of successful tests, Bond convinced the Navy to give him modest funds to build an undersea habitat, Sealab I, to be tested 200 feet down in the warm waters off of Bermuda. In 1964, four divers — called aquanauts — successfully lived in the undersea base for 10 days. A year later, a bigger habitat called Sealab II was submerged off the coast of La Jolla, Calif.
Inside, the habitat resembled a modest RV, with basic amenities such as a shower, toilet, sink, dinner table, and shelves of canned food. "Every minute and every hour, every day, there are obviously opportunities for something to go wrong, and there were close calls," said Hellwarth. On February 15, 1969, the Navy crew lowered Sealab III 610 feet below the surface and there were problems immediately. The lab began leaking its helium-rich artificial atmosphere. The Navy support barge had to pump increasing amounts of gas into the lab to maintain its pressure. If they couldn't fix the issue, the lab would flood, and the habitat would be lost. The Navy commanders sent a small team of aquanauts down to try to plug the leaks.
Science Exploration OCEANOGRAPHY DEEP SEA EXPLORATION SATURATION DIVING UNDERWATER HABITATS SEALAB
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