Architect designs underwater spaceship to explore the ocean floors

These days we’ve got technology to send spaceships to other planets and deep space, but how much do we really know about our oceans here on Earth?

French architect Jacques Rougerie had the same thought when he designed an ocean explorer based on Jules Verne’s novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea .

The craft, which he coined the SeaOrbiter, will come to life to explore the Earth’s oceans—once it reaches its target funding goal of a mere $48 million, that is. Earlier in the year, the SeaOrbiter’s crowdsourcing attempt failed on French website KissKissBankBank where it only raised $466,000 of this goal.

The goal of the SeaOrbiter is to create a 24-hour laboratory and exploration vehicle that would run on solar and wind power.
 
Its self-sustaining nature would allow it to research our ocean floors for extended periods of time.

Aboard the SeaOrbiter you’d find a laboratory, space simulator, and a diving drone that can reach almost 20,000 feet under water. 

The 190-foot-tall ship would also contain a communications system, as well as a wind turbine and solar panels to keep it running. It would even have a silent mode as to not disturb underwater ecosystems.

If the ship comes to life, there would also be living accommodations for a captain and 22 crew members.
 
So far, the SeaOrbiter has gained support from some pretty well-known people including Prince Albert II of Monaco, former NASA Administrator Dan Goldin, and President of the Ocean Futures Society, J’ean-Michel Costeau.

To learn more about the future of sea exploration, visit the SeaOrbiter’s website.