Earth & Energy

Next Stop Is Mariana Trench: Space Tourist Maezawa Is Planning a Trip to the Deepest Location

From the depths of space to the bottom of the ocean.

Published

4 years ago

January 8, 2022

Japan-based billionaire entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa became the first Japanese civilian tourist visiting the International Space Station (ISS). And now, Maezawa is eyeing to dive into the Mariana Trench, the deepest location on Earth.

Yusaku Maezawa traveled to the ISS last month for touristic purposes. He also booked a trip to the Moon on SpaceX’s Starship rocket in 2023. Before going to Earth’s only natural satellite, the billionaire turned his eyes from the depths of space to the deepest point of our planet. “Not only to go to the Moon, not just to travel upwards but also downwards is another dream of mine,” Maezawa said during a press conference in Tokyo. “I am thinking about going down to the Mariana Trench, deep under the ocean.”

As it is known as a dark chamber under the western Pacific Ocean with a depth of about 11 km, Earth’s deepest place appears like a cavity of imperishable darkness. Just as it is necessary to pass physical endurance tests to go to space, the same goes for Mariana, of which its bottom reaches 8 tons per inch or a thousand times sea level’s atmospheric pressure. The first manned descent, meanwhile, took place on 23 January 1960 with the involvement of Navy Lt. Don Walsh and engineer Jacques Piccard. They reached the bottom at 10,916 meters via the bathyscaphe Trieste.

Yusaku Maezawa will travel to the Mariana Trench

Unlike space, we can say Mariana is less frequently visited. “I want to keep taking on challenges,” said Maezawa, who will use the submarine for that trip. However, he did not detail how long the journey would take.

Behance/Kurzgesagt

Maezawa’s adventurous attempts have brought denigrations as the Japanese entrepreneur is criticized to be “engaged in the pursuit of pleasure.” Responding to those who lash out at himself, Maezawa said, “When you take on challenges, of course, you will sometimes be criticized and sometimes fail. There may be some people who get scared and quit.”

“As for me, I am not always successful. I don’t make all my dreams come true. But I still believe it’s fun to take on challenges,” he concluded.