SCI/TECH: Japanese Journey to the Centre of the Earth

The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) have built a drill ship capable of drilling 6 miles into the earths crust to look for the origins life in our planets mantle, and explore the processes of global warming and earthquakes.



The drill ship CHIKYU constructed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and weighs 57,500 tonne's, will drill into the seabed of the pacific ocean where it will have to bore through 7000 metres of earths crust while floating in 2,500 metres of water. The project will evolve into a challenging international effort in which Japan and the USA will play leading roles. At point in history where they say we know more about space then we do our own planet, this is an important step forward to making that change.

Related News Links:
www.jamstec.go.jp
www.maritimejapan.com

Interesting stuff, I wonder how they are gonna deal with the constantly changing materials of the rock they are going to be drilling through? Also I wonder what the Alarmists are gonna say about this one.

I remember this from a few years ago. Would love to see them actually complete the vehicle.
The bad thing is that there seems to a money making portion to it as the vehicle will be open to the general public (I am sure for just a nominal sum) and ythen the vehicle will not be launched until sometime during the 2007 fiscal year for Japan.
Great Find!

Story already posted by someone else yesterday posted on 6/4/2005 at 04:38 PM

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Here is a picture of the ship, and some text from the caption.

oceanusmag.whoi.edu...
The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program’s new drill ship Chikyu (“Earth” in Japanese) is launched in Tamano-shi, Japan, in January 2002. The 57,500-ton, 210-meter (689-foot)-long ship will be capable of drilling 7 kilometers (4.35 miles) below the seafloor—sufficient to reach the mantle. Its derrick was installed in September 2003 and after sea trials, Chikyu should be ready by late 2006. Photo courtesy Japan Marine Science and Technology Center and the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program

And a link to much much more information if your interested.
IODP Technical Requirements

Apart from searching for life inside the earth’s mantle what also fascinated me was it's thruster capabilities.

From the maritime japan article

The CHIKYU is equipped with seven large marine thrusters, which are used when the vessel is engaged in seabed drilling and exploration activities. Each thruster receives signals from DPS to maintain the vessel's position at sea, and helps hold the hull in a prescribed position without allowing it to be affected by winds and currents. The vessel has six Azimuth Thrusters (Kawasaki Rexpellers), which are capable of developing thrust in any direction in a 360-degree range on the horizontal plane.

The drill pipe is 25 times the height of the Empire State building.

Mad

[edit on 5-6-2005 by kode]

How exactly is 7000 meters the center of the Earth? I understand that they are drilling through the mantle, but the title of the article sounds a bit sensationalized.

Interesting project though; good find.

That's a terribly misleading headline. They are only going to drill through the crust, if they can even get through that. They will still be some 4,000 miles or so from the center of the earth.

It will be quite a feat just to drill through the crust. If they actually find life of any kind in the mantle it would be sensational news given the temperature that deep inside earth.

[edit on 6-6-2005 by Astronomer68]

The quote said they are just supose to drill through the mantel. The Mantel is a small part of the earth, just the outer curst. That next 4000 miles to the center they will half to work on later

It does sound real neat, will look forward to hear what all they find!

Maybe they are really looking for more whales!

Would love for the mission to suceed, and if it does, I would like to see what they find. However, they might cause some sort of trouble with the plates, andwhat if the tunnel collapses on them?

[edit on 6/6/2005 by Lifeadventurer]

I think that there may be a problem in digging to the center of the Earth aside the heat.
*The gravitaional pull (On all sides of them) could mess with there stearing.
*They allso could'nt have any compases.
=)

Now were gonna start drilling in the Earth and ruin that, then the Earth is going to fall apart...

Then well go to the moon