WE DON’T STARE INTO THE WATER WITH THE KIND OF VISION THAT WE HAVE WHEN WE STARE INTO SPACE AND WE HAVE NO UNDERSEA TELESCOPE THAT OPENS THE WORLD DOWN THERE TO US.

As we prepare to head back into space, sending astronauts to orbit around the Moon, it is a good time to look back at the extraordinary mission into the depths of the ocean, whose anniversary we are soon to be celebrating. It should get the same attention as our space launches, but it just isn’t as sexy as they are.

We don’t stare into the water with the kind of vision that we have when we stare into space – and we have no undersea telescope that opens the world down there to us.

I was lucky enough to be able to talk with Olly Steeds while he dove deep into the heart of the darkness of the sea. I felt profoundly moved to know I was touching – in no small way – the depths of the ocean. It was as overwhelming as if I were talking to an astronaut scaling the heights of the heavens.

Truly one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life and I am proud to have been an infinitesimal part of it.

This is how this short essay appears in the special Oceanographic publication, The Innerview