Although they cover 71% of the surface of our planet, it is estimated that only 5% of the oceans have been explored. A new project led by Fabien Cousteau, grandson of the famous oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, and designer Yves Bhar wants to create the largest underwater laboratory in the world to help scientists study the mysteries of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Proteus project, whose name takes inspiration from the Greek sea god, known for being the guardian of knowledge, aims to install a habitat more than 18 meters deep in the Carabas Sea. The 370-square-meter facility, seen by the creators as an aquatic version of the International Space Station, will be inhabited by scientists and researchers from around the world.
Inside the two-storey structure of Proteus are multiple capsules that will have laboratories, rooms for 12 inhabitants, a studio designed for the production of video and even an underwater hydroponic greenhouse. The habitat is powered by wind and solar energy, as well as by the conversion of thermal energy from the ocean.
The creation of Proteus was inspired by Mission-31, an experiment carried out in 2014 where Fabien Cousteau lived 31 days on board the Aquarius underwater habitat, accompanied by a team of 5 aquanauts. The habitat was developed by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 1986, and in 2013, the Florida International University took over.
The team behind the construction of Proteus expects to have it ready in three years, with investment costs of around USD 135 million. In addition to Proteus, Fabien Cousteau aims to build another habitat, called Triton, at more than 182 meters deep. In a Forbes interview, the oceanographer revealed that in the trough there is also the use of autonomous underwater robots that will explore what is happening in the ocean at a depth of more than 609 meters.