Photo: screenshot of CMG’s report

　　China"s research vessel Tansuo-1, carrying the manned submersible Fendouzhe, arrived in Guangzhou, South China"s Guangdong Province on Sunday after successfully completing the Pacific crossing mission under the Global Hadal Exploration Program and the first China-Chile joint manned deep-diving expedition to the Atacama Trench. It marks a major step forward in China"s deep-sea scientific capabilities and international marine science cooperation, China Media Group (CMG)"s reported.

　　The mission, led by the State Key Laboratory of Deep-Sea Science and Intelligent Technology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences" Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering, set sail from Sanya on December 6, 2025, lasting 156 days and covering more than 40,000 kilometers — roughly equivalent to one circumnavigation of the Earth along the equator, CMG reported.

　　A total of 83 researchers from six countries — China, Chile, Germany, Denmark, Canada and Spain — took part in the expedition. The mission focused on the Atacama and Mussau trenches, carrying out systematic research on major frontier scientific topics including hadal biodiversity, chemosynthetic ecosystems, deep-sea fluid activity and plate subduction mechanisms, CMG reported.

　　During the mission, the manned submersible Fendouzhe completed 63 dives, including 50 at depths exceeding 6,000 meters, collecting a large number of biological and geological samples as well as high-definition underwater imagery, providing key support for interdisciplinary research on hadal geology, life and the deep-sea environment, according to CMG.

　　The expedition also yielded a series of major scientific discoveries.