Autosub6000 to Explore World's Deepest Oceans

Autosub6000 being lifted from the water

A 5.5m long, 6,100 lb robotic submarine called the Autosub6000 (I wonder if there was a 5000) is getting ready to explore the depths of the Cayman Trough in the Caribbean. The Cayman Trough, which you may remember from the film, The Abyss, has never been explored do to its incredible depths of up to 25,000 ft (the Mariana Trench, by comparison, is 29,000 ft deep).  The AUV will be used by the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton (NOCS) on two, month-long, autonomous, exploration trips to plumb the depths of the trough. Autosub6000 will be used to autonomously identify volcanic acvitivty, and mark the location for a ROV, Isis, to take samples. The unique features of the vents are expexted to yield many new species of life.

"They could be hotter than 500C (930F), and if they are that hot, they will probably have quite different chemistry and life forms - we expect to find new species."

Good luck Autosub6000, stear clear of the aliens.

[Via Slashdot]