Human beings have a particular attraction to breaking records. A sample of this is the emergence of the popular Guinness World Record, which has been able to capture the interest of the public for decades. And yes, in the world of records we find achievements motivated by the advancement of science and technology, such as when we reached unprecedented levels of data transfer, to other more surreal ones, such as the longest car ever built.
The interest in breaking down barriers and setting new milestones has resulted in some of the most curious and probably unexpected achievements. Joseph Dituri, also known as “Dr. Deep Sea”, knows this very well. This university professor and former commander of the United States Navy has been living underwater for two and a half months in a pressurized underwater habitat. During all this time he has been physically isolated from the rest of the world.
It all started on March 1 at a facility in the Florida Keys. The diver submerged in a habitat known as Jules Undersea Lodge with the aim of remaining 100 days underwater for scientific reasons. The first scale of this ambitious challenge has been to break the previous record of underwater permanence. Bruce Cantrell and Jessica Fain, two teachers from Tennessee, managed to stay 73 days in the same place where Dituri is now.
Dr. Deep Sea’s motivation goes beyond breaking the aforementioned record. As he explains, it is an experiment whose objective is to analyze the impacts of living in a confined and extreme environment. Precisely, we say above, our protagonist is completely isolated, so all the necessary resources are at this moment with him. For example, during this time he has followed a protein-rich diet of eggs and salmon.
Joseph Dituri at Jules Undersea Lodge
In addition, in order to maintain his physical health, he has been exercising daily with elastic bands. Associated Press notes that, unlike an underwater ship, the habitat in which Dituri remains does not have lthe technology needed to adjust the pressure. Consequently, long-term stays in the depths of Jules Undersea Lodge present an even greater challenge to the human body, which must withstand the natural conditions of living underwater.
Joseph Dituri
In this sense, Dituri daily monitors certain physiological values to provide these data to the experiment. And when we say that it is an ambitious project, it really is. This ex-marine dreams of a future in which humanity can “populate the world’s oceans, care for them and treat them well.” In a personal capacity, he also has goals outside of this planet. According to their websiteintends to become a civilian astronaut and travel to space in 2026.
For now, it will still remain around 20 more days in the depths. As his experiment progresses, although he is physically isolated, stay connected with your students. From there, she teaches marine science classes and biomedical engineering courses for the University of South Florida. Over the years we will know if Dr. Deep Sea materializes all his objectives.
Images: Florida Keys
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