Patanjali Civil Services Academy

Samudrayaan Project: Matsya-6000 Deep-Ocean Submersible

Tags: Prelims Current events of national and international importance

Source: The Hindu

Context: India's Matsya-6000 is scheduled to undergo its first 500-metre trial dive in January–February 2027 in the Bay of Bengal.

Matsya-6000: Key Features

Developed by: National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Objective: Transport 3 aquanauts to a depth of 6,000 metres for deep-ocean scientific exploration.
Design: 2.1-metre-diameter spherical titanium hull.
Collaboration: NIOT is working with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on the titanium hull.
Trials: First phase involves 500-metre depth trials; subsequent phases will progressively test greater depths.

Samudrayaan Project

Part of the Deep Ocean Mission (2021), under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Aims to develop indigenous technology for manned deep-sea exploration up to 6,000 metres.
India aims to join the select group of countries possessing crewed deep-sea exploration capabilities.

Prelims Extra

Aquanauts: Persons trained to work underwater in deep-sea environments.
Deep Ocean Mission: Launched in 2021 to explore deep-ocean resources, develop marine technologies and strengthen India's blue economy.
Gaganyaan vs Samudrayaan: Gaganyaan involves human spaceflight; Samudrayaan involves human exploration of the deep ocean.

Q1. With reference to India's deep-ocean exploration programme, consider the following statements:

Samudrayaan is a component of the Deep Ocean Mission launched in 2021 under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Matsya-6000 is designed to carry three aquanauts to a depth of 6,000 metres for scientific exploration.
The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, is responsible for developing Matsya-6000.
The Deep Ocean Mission is exclusively concerned with the exploration of polymetallic nodules and does not cover the development of manned submersible technology.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1, 2 and 3 only
(c) 2, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer: (b) 1, 2 and 3 only

Explanation:

Statement 1 is Correct: Samudrayaan is the manned submersible component of the Deep Ocean Mission (2021), implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Statement 2 is Correct: Matsya-6000 is designed to carry three aquanauts to a depth of 6,000 metres.
Statement 3 is Correct: NIOT is developing the submersible, with ISRO collaborating on the titanium hull.
Statement 4 is Incorrect: The Deep Ocean Mission has multiple components, including deep-sea mining technologies, manned submersibles, marine biodiversity conservation and ocean climate advisory services.