As the world comes to a halt to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, travel bucket lists grow with the number of places to see and experiences to do once movement goes back to normal. If you want to dream of adventures, then why not dream of a dive deep down into Earth’s most exclusive destination?

A picture of the base ship of the expedition
The expedition supports exploratory science and all operations start from the "mothership" DSSV Pressure Drop © Reeve Jolliffe/EYOS Expeditions

EYOS Expeditions, a company dedicated to organising luxury expeditions in adventurous places of the world, is working on offering the first-ever opportunity to dive at the deepest bottom of the ocean - right down into Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, at 10,928 metres below the surface.

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“This is the most exclusive destination on Earth,” said Rob McCallum, founding partner of EYOS Expeditions, in a statement. “More people have been to the moon than to the bottom of the ocean. Four thousand people have been to Everest and 562 to space; only seven have made it to Challenger Deep”. One of those people, funnily enough, was movie director James Cameron in 2012.

A picture of one of the landers launched before each dive
Those joining the expedition will be among the first fifteen humans to reach the bottom of the Marian Trench. Before each dive, launchers are sent to report back on ocean conditions and act as navigational aid © Reeve Jolliffe/EYOS Expeditions

The exploration team has a place for three people, called “Mission Specialists”, who will join the group of scientists and experts in Guam and study their work before gearing up to dive down into Challenger Deep. The dive down will take about four hours then another four will be spent at the bottom of the ocean to take in the incredible view and film some amazing footage of this otherworldly environment, before starting another four hours trip back up to the surface.

A picture of the submarine dropping from the mothership
The ship and sub are the core of the world's only exploration dedicated to the hadal zone, meaning that area of the ocean going from 6000 to 11,000 metres of depth © Reeve Jolliffe/EYOS Expeditions

The dive will be made in a submersible provided by Caladan Oceanic, a company specialised in subsea technology. The vehicle has been pressure tested and has already dived five times to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, making it extremely safe. “The occupants of the submersible are completely protected by the 90mm thick titanium sphere and experience no pressure changes or physiological stresses at all,” it reads in its official description. “Indeed, the inside of the sub is quiet, peaceful and very relaxing”.

A picture of the sub getting ready to dive
The three Mission Specialists will need no prior training because they will receive all the training they need to prepare for their fourteen-hour dive aboard the mothership © Reeve Jolliffe/EYOS Expeditions

If you want to know more about the expedition and its technicalities, or its tickets, you can check out the official website of EYOS Expeditions here.

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