We often follow various projects that offer the experience of traveling to outer space. SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are three companies that are now offering this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to those willing to pay for it. But while others are busy looking up, OceanGate Expeditions is looking down and offering a travel experience to the location of the wreck of the Titanic in the Atlantic Ocean.
This pilot company has done tests with five passengers consisting of two crew members and the CEO of the Stockton Rush company and two other passengers who paid £195,000 (~RM987,000) each to visit the Titanic. But the submarine named Titan has been reported missing since last Sunday. The last time it was tracked was when it was near the Titanic and it is believed that it may have been trapped among the wreckage.
Despite being missing for more than 24 hours, the Titan has up to 96 hours of oxygen supply giving the crew hope if they are alive they will survive until Thursday to be rescued. A search and rescue mission is being carried out with the help of several government agencies and the navy. This indirectly made it the deepest submarine rescue mission ever undertaken.
The Titanic was located 3800 meters below sea level. Not many submarines have the ability to dive to this depth which makes this mission almost impossible. Making the search and rescue mission even more difficult is that the OceanGate failed to contact the Titan while it was in the process of diving into the Titanic.