China's unmanned submersible has dived to a depth of 10,907 metres at the world's deepest ocean point, setting a new record for the country during which samples from the deep sea and high-definition images of the geological environment were collected, according to a media report on Tuesday.
"Haidou-1" set the record by submerging under the Pacific Ocean surface of the Mariana Trench, the deepest area in the world.
Members of the expedition team from the Shenyang Institute of Automation with the Chinese Academy of Sciences said that the vehicle dived over 10,000 meters four times at the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench during the trip, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The team left for the expedition on April 23 and returned to the northeast China province of Liaoning on Monday.
During the deep-sea diving operation, researchers tested high-precision depth detection, machine hand operation, acoustic detection and positioning, and high-definition video transmission.
The submersible collected samples from the deep sea and captured high-definition images of the geological environment, the report said.
China in recent years has stepped up efforts to develop deep sea technology to explore mining of rich natural resources from the sea bed.
In 2011, China entered into a deal with the International Seabed Authority for a polymetallic sulfide exploration area of 10,000 square kms in the Indian Ocean for 15 years.
