Jacques Piccard went into the deepest of the depth

[mania]

Jacques Piccard died today at the age of 86 in Switzerland.

RIP

Jacques Piccard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[ScubaGypsy]

From AFP:

Swiss 'Captain Nemo' explorer Jacques Piccard dies at 86


GENEVA (AFP) Swiss deep sea explorer and inventor Jacques Piccard, who holds the record for travelling to the deepest point underwater, died Saturday at the age of 86, a statement said.

"One of the last great explorers of the 20th century, a true Captain Nemo who went deeper than any other man, Jacques Piccard passed away on Saturday, ... at his home on the edge of his beloved Lake Geneva," it said.

Piccard, who was born in Brussels, together with Don Walsh reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench, 10,916 metres (35,813 feet) below sea level on January 23, 1960 -- the farthest point underwater.

He also witnessed living organisms at a depth of over 11,000 metres below sea level, a discovery that led to a ban in nuclear waste dumping into the ocean.

Piccard had also built four mid-depth submarines, including the first tourist submarine that carried 33,000 passengers deep into Lake Geneva in 1964 and carried on deep sea exploration up to the age of 82.

Piccard's father Auguste Piccard twice beat the record for reaching the highest altitude in a balloon, in 1931-32.

"He passed on to me a sense of curiosity, a desire to mistrust dogmas and common assumptions, a belief in free-will, and confidence in the face of the unknown," Piccard's son Bertrand said in a statement released by Solar Impulse, a solar aeroplane project in which he is involved.

 

[ianr33]

Pretty amazing that only 2 people have ever been to the very bottom of the Ocean

From AFP:

Piccard, who was born in Brussels, together with Don Walsh reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench, 10,916 metres (35,813 feet) below sea level on January 23, 1960 -- the farthest point underwater.

He also witnessed living organisms at a depth of over 11,000 metres below sea level,

I assume those living organisms were burrowing 84 meters below the bottom of the Mariana Trench?

 

[drbill]

I remember reading of Picard and Walsh (who I met a few years later) in the Trieste. Sad to hear of his passing.

 

[Thalassamania]

A great loss for all who are interested in deep sea exploration.

 

[Peter Guy]

In the decade of the 60's we had deep water exploration and landed on the moon. Why haven't "we" done more since?

 

[Sam Miller III]

In the decade of the 60's we had deep water exploration and landed on the moon. Why haven't "we" done more since?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The death of Barry Canon during Sea Lab which was captured on TV and displayed around the world..

The Man in the sea program suddenly became the man on the dock program.

sdm

 

[DaleC]

Sad to hear of his passing though it comes at the end of a life well lived.
The Piccard and Cousteau adventures captivated me as a young boy and were my catalyst to the sea.

 

[Tomeck]

"He passed on to me a sense of curiosity, a desire to mistrust dogmas and common assumptions, a belief in free-will, and confidence in the face of the unknown," Piccard's son Bertrand said in a statement released by Solar Impulse, a solar aeroplane project in which he is involved.

Piccard's son Bertrand and Brian Jones set off in the balloon on the first first non-stop balloon circumnavigation around the globe.

 

[Arizona]

In the world's loss at least we can reflect on his achievments... I did not relaize his work led to the banning of deep nuclear waste dumping. What fools would ever think that is safe? There is some good video on YouTube related to his work.

Mania, thanks for starting this post.

AZ