James Cameron Reaches Deepest Point of the Ocean

Director James Cameron conquered possibly the last great exploratory feat on Earth over the weekend. He reached the deepest point of the ocean–35,756 feet down, at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. And once he got there, he tweeted.

More details of Cameron’s mission from National Geographic:

Upon touchdown at Challenger Deep, Cameron’s first target is a phone booth-like unmanned “lander” dropped into the trench hours before his dive.

Using sonar, “I’m going to attempt to rendezvous with that vehicle so I can observe animals that are attracted to the chemical signature of its bait,” Cameron told National Geographic News before the dive.

He’ll later follow a route designed to take him through as many environments as possible, surveying not only the sediment-covered seafloor but also cliffs of interest to expedition geologists.