Matsya 6000 (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

, ) is an Indian crewed

deep-submergence vehicle A deep-submergence vehicle (DSV) is a deep-diving crewed submersible that is self-propelled. Several navies operate vehicles that can be accurately described as DSVs. DSVs are commonly divided into two types: research DSVs, which are used for ex ...

intended to be utilised for

deep-sea exploration Deep-sea exploration is the investigation of physical, chemical, and biological conditions on the sea bed, for scientific or commercial purposes. Deep-sea exploration is considered a relatively recent human activity compared to the other areas of ...

of rare

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...

s under the Deep Ocean mission. Currently under development, the vehicle would consist of a

titanium alloy Titanium alloys are alloys that contain a mixture of titanium and other chemical elements. Such alloys have very high tensile strength and toughness (even at extreme temperatures). They are light in weight, have extraordinary corrosion resistance a ...

sphere of 80mm thickness along with a diameter of 2.1m which can withstand the pressure of 600 bar.

History

On 31 August 2019, while replying to a query about deep sea mining, the then director of NIOT (National Institute of Ocean Technology) Dr. M.A. Atmanand, who was at the facility of

Titagarh Wagons Titagarh Wagons Limited is an Indian shipbuilder, defense, railway wagon manufacturer headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal. The company manufactures coaches for the Indian Railways, bailey bridges, and mining equipment. A subsidiary, Titagarh M ...

to inaugurate coastal research vessel Sagar Anveshika, said that in line with the

Gaganyaan Gaganyaan (Sanskrit IAST: ''gagan-yāna'', ) is an Indian crewed orbital spacecraft intended to be the formative spacecraft of the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme. The spacecraft is being designed to carry three people, and a planned upgrad ...

mission of

ISRO The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman ...

, NIOT was proposing a project to send a submersible vehicle with three persons to a depth of about 6000 metres to carry out deep underwater studies. He further added that the success of the "Samudrayaan" mission will help India join the league of developed nations in exploration of minerals from oceans. The project was supposed to get final approval from the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Eco ...

in October 2019, but the final approval was delayed and was granted on 16 June 2021.

Development

On 27 October 2021, NIOT conducted an uncrewed trial of the ‘personnel sphere,’ built of mild steel, using the ORV Sagar Nidhi, in Bay of Bengal. For the trial, the personnel sphere was lowered up to a depth of 6000 metres, off the coast of

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. After successful trial and receiving certification, the union minister of state (independent charge) science and technology

Jitendra Singh Jitendra Singh may refer to: * Jitendra Singh (politician, born 1956), Indian Bharatiya Janata Party politician * Jitendra Singh (politician, born 1971), Indian National Congress politician * Jitendra Singh (BSP) or Jitendra Kumar Bablu Bhaiya, B ...

formally launched the project on 29 October 2021. The entire project was allocated () for a period of five years.

References

{{authority control Research submarines Research submarines of India Submarines of India Ship types

History

Development

See also

References