“The lives of 5 millionaires are more than the lives of immigrants”

Microbiologist at the Spanish Institute of Oceanography in Malaga Isabella Ferreira Descended 2,653 meters on two separate expeditions on the East Pacific Ridge in 2006 and 2007. Alvin was the first to explore the submarine, Titanic 1986 and That’s what director James Cameron hired He wanted to see the ship before shooting his movie.

“The lives of 5 millionaires seem to be worth more than the lives of immigrants, and the lives of these people are not necessarily worth more than any other citizen,” he said in an interview. Europe Press When the scientist asked about the resources devoted to finding the five members of the Titanic’s crew that went down on the Titanic, compared to efforts to save drowning migrants.

The US Coast Guard said Thursday that the missing Titanic submarine suffered a “catastrophic explosion” during a dive Sunday to visit the wreck of the Titanic, and debris from the device was found.

Although he noted that he does not know who will pay the high cost of this recovery, the Spanish microbiologist argues that public resources should not be used: “If you put yourself there purely for tourism and personal purposes, you must be responsible for paying this bill and not using public resources.

“If Titan’s design is consistent with the maximum depth it can reach, there shouldn’t be any problems. If there were, that’s why There was a problem with the designMaterials or more meters than it can bear have come down”, he emphasized.

Hazards of diving on a commercial submarine

Science submersibles like Alvin, as Ferreira explained, have a “different” shape from Titan and are capable of three people, while the device that exploded this Thursday was five. “They made it big, I imagine, because it was commercial and, as they say, No Beacon Location System“, mentioned.

“Titan is an experimental submersible.”Not verified by competent authorityAlthough the Alvin was a scientific submarine, it had “space-like technology” so the Spanish microbiologist “never” feared going down more than 2,600 meters on his expeditions.

For the scientist, The risk of going on Titan is “extremely high.” Rather than going on the Alvin, since it is a private submarine, it is “not certified or authorized by any competent authority” and passengers “must sign a document” before diving on it.

Despite this week’s tragedy, Ferreira vowed that he would have no problem descending the same distance as the Titanic, but would not explore the ship aboard the Alvin or any other scientific submersible, and not commercially. “I will go down into the Mariana Trench,” he has decreed.

As to what it means Risking life for science, asserted that science was “a machine that pushed boundaries” and noted that man’s desire for exploration led him to reach the moon. “I don’t think we think we’re risking our lives when we do it, you’re risking your life taking the car every day. It’s an extra motivation,” he added.

However, He was not “very supportive” of science tourismOr like the Titan mission where millionaires risked their lives, each crew member paid $250,000. “These people’s decision is a personal and ego issue, if they want to contribute to science, they can donate part of their money to research,” he said.

«James Cameron was not big enough to land on the Alvin, and a submarine was built to go to the Marianas.. How much it costs to dive a famous person can be invested in another way. I’m not against it, but I feel it opens up a debate,” he said.

Sphere is very important when designing a submarine

When designing a submarine, engineers must consider that There should be a visibility port and “the larger the port, the more crystalline and the shallower they can reach.” “A fully sealed titanium sphere is very strong. Engineers have to fine-tune the size, thickness and placement of the sphere,” commented Ferreira.

On Alvin, who has made more than 5,000 dives, it goes One pilot and two passengers, who are usually scientists, require a pilot in training to go on every three dives, so only one scientist goes on that trip on the device. Pilots are usually electronics engineers, telecommunications engineers, or military submarine pilots, and Alvin “had a woman pilot who was a scientist.”

Scientists, as the microbiologist highlighted, follow the pilot’s instructions during the trip, but they must be familiar with the communication system and system for the ballast release and emergency evacuation, which have never been used in this device.

Protocol in an emergency

“If the pilot goes missing, we scientists will have to make an emergency evacuation. In case of maximum emergency, what you are left with is a button that can separate the sphere and rise to the surface,” said the expert, recalling that “there are those who are.” Do not go down with claustrophobia or fear and courage.

The microbiologist descended over 2,600 meters on the Pacific Ridge to study microbes at high temperatures, because around hydrothermal vents “there’s a unique ecosystem that doesn’t exist anywhere else”: “We did Study the ecosystemIt is a multidisciplinary project with geologists, geochemists, biologists or microbiologists».

“You have an emotion, a fascination, a little nervousness to live an experience like this, especially for the first time. It’s exciting. What surprises you the most is the geological activity, where you see black liquids coming out with very strong pressure at 400 degrees. You feel like you are in the bowels of the earth You are in a rift that enters the depths of the planet. You feel a lot of emotion and a lot of responsibility,” he said.