China's Manned Deep-sea Submersible Jiaolong Prepares to Dive into South China Sea

Zhou Huaiyang, professor of the School of Ocean and Earth Science at Tongji University, waves before entering China's manned deep-sea submersible Jiaolong aboard the Xiangyanghong 09 in South China Sea, June 18, 2013. The Jiaolong manned deep-sea submersible on Tuesday carried its first scientist Zhou Huaiyang as crew member during a deep-sea dive. Jiaolong left east China's city of Jiangyin on June 10 for its first voyage of experimental application. The 113-day-long mission will include experiments on Jiaolong's positioning system, as well as deep-sea ecological and geological surveys in the South China Sea, biological surveying and geological sampling in the Pacific Ocean. [Xinhua]