Matsya 6000 will take a 3-member crew at a depth of 6 kilometres.
Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday shared a video and photos of Matsya (Hindi for Fish) 6000, a manned submersible that will explore the depths of the ocean as part of the Samudrayaan mission. The vessel is being developed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai. Once commissioned, this will be India's first manned ocean exploration mission. The spherical vessel will be built to take aquanauts to 6,000 metres deep into the sea. However, the inaugural underwater journey will be of 500 metres. Mr Rijiju said the mission will not disturb the marine ecosystem.
"Next is "Samudrayaan". This is 'MATSYA 6000' submersible under construction at National Institute of Ocean Technology at Chennai. India's first manned Deep Ocean Mission 'Samudrayaan' plans to send 3 humans in 6-km ocean depth in a submersible, to study the deep sea resources and biodiversity assessment. The project will not disturb the ocean ecosystem," the minister said on X (formerly Twitter).
"The Deep Ocean Mission supports the 'Blue Economy' vision of PM @narendramodi ji, and envisages sustainable utilization of ocean resources for economic growth of the country, improve livelihoods and jobs, and preserve ocean ecosystem health," Mr Rijiju further said.
A video in the post shows the minister sitting inside the vessel, which is still under construction. An expert is seen explaining Mr Rijiju about Matsya 6000 and how it works.
Samudrayaan will explore the depths of the sea for resources like minerals. In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha earlier this year, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh, had said that the mission is expected to be realised by year 2026.