One giant leap for ocean exploration… what the world’s first ’space station of the sea’ will look like
It looks more like the Starship Enterprise sinking in the sea – but this huge vertical vessel could be the future of ocean exploration.
Called the SeaOrbiter, the huge 51m (167ft) structure is set to be the world’s first vertical ship allowing man a revolutionary view of life below the surface.
Although currently only a prototype its inventor Jacques Rougerie thinks his international oceanographic station will soon be setting sail.
Mr Rougerie wants the ship to be a space station for the sea giving scientists an insight into the little-known world under the sea.
‘At the moment, they [oceanographers] can dive only for short periods before they have to be brought back to the surface. It is as though they were taken to study the Amazon jungle and then helicoptered away again after an hour,’ Mr Rougerie told The Times.
‘SeaOrbiter will provide a permanent mobile presence with a window to what is under the surface of the sea.”
The architect, whose home and office are houseboats, wants to launch half a dozen of the vessels.
At the moment he says he has half the €35million (£32million) that it will cost to build the first one, and is confident of finding the rest.
The SeaOrbiter would also be a useful tool for studying the link between global warming and the oceans.
