Richard Branson and Google Earth to explore deep unchartered water

Virgin Atlantic Founder Richard Branson will travel to deepest parts of ocean in solo submarine

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Richard Branson and Google Earth to explore deep unchartered water

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Billionaire brand genius Richard Branson announced on Tuesday that he will travel to one of the deepest parts of the ocean in a single-person submarine. The Virgin Atlantic Founder says that over the next two years the solo craft will travel to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic's Puerto Rico Trench and South Sandwich Trench, the Diamantina Trench in the Indian Ocean and the Molloy Deep in the Arctic Ocean.
Branson will be enlisting another deep water explorer, Chris Welsh, who will make the first descent later this year to the Mariana Trench, which is 36,000 ft. deeper than Mount Everest is high, according to a statement. Branson will then travel to the Puerto Rico Trench, which is 28,000 ft. deep. The divers for the three other deep water trips have yet to be chosen.
At the Newport Harbor Yacht Club in Newport Beach, Calif., Branson said today, “Man has not explored our ocean. If someone says something is impossible we like to prove it's possible. I love learning and I'm just very fortunate to participate in these kinds of adventures."
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Branson unveiled the submarine at today’s event, a nearly 18 ft. long, white-and-blue airplane-looking craft with wings and a cockpit. The carbon fiber and titanium craft cost $17 million and will be capable of cruising for about 6.2 miles and can stay down unaided for 24 hours, according to a report on Yahoo. Branson plans to create a larger sub that can hold more people for their own deep water expolorations.
The deep water dives will be recorded and uploaded to Google Earth, said John Hanke, Google’s VP of product management. "Our mission for Google Earth is to create an interactive virtual globe and enable users to visit places that they've never explored, including the world's oceans," he said.
We just can't wait to see what else Branson has up his sleeve for adventures this year.