Japan successfully tests fuel-cell ocean probe vehicle ( 2003-08-12 12:38) (Agencies)
Japanese researchers successfully tested the world's first deep sea probe run
on fuel cells in a step toward efficient ocean exploration, an official said
Tuesday.
Urashima, a red-and-white, 10-meter (yard) long torpedo-shaped submarine,
successfully navigated shallow waters off the port of Yokohama, south of Tokyo,
on Monday, said Katsumi Nozawa, a spokesman for The Japan Marine Science and
Technology Center.
By using hydrogen-based fuel cell batteries, the submarine can more than
double the underwater distance covered on standard lithium-ion batteries, Nozawa
said.
Equipped with a water sampling device and a digital camera, Urashima is
designed to dive as deep as 3,500 meters (2.17 miles) and cruise as far as 300
kilometers (186 miles).
The submarine, scheduled for actual use in 2005, is expected to take deep sea
water samples from places unreachable by humans, such as areas around undersea
volcanos and below the Arctic ice cap. The goal is to analyze amounts of carbon
dioxide, sodium and other chemicals for information on global warming and other
environmental changes.
Researchers were planning to test the submarine again Tuesday in deeper
waters of the Pacific Ocean, Nozawa said.
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