German Lives 4 Months Underwater Setting World Record

A German aerospace engineer spent 120 days underwater in the Caribbean, setting a world record for the longest stay without depressurization. The Guardian writes about it.  

Rudiger Koch, 59, lived for four months in a 30-square-meter underwater capsule submerged 11 meters below the sea surface. He managed to surpass the previous record of the American Joseph Dituri, who spent 100 days in an underwater dwelling in the Florida lagoon.  

Koch celebrated his success with champagne and a cigar, after which he swam in the sea, where a boat picked him up.  

“It was a great adventure, and now that it's over, I almost miss it. I really enjoyed living underwater,” Rudiger said.  

Before the experiment began, he explained his goal of showing that underwater space can be a viable environment for humans.  

“We're trying to prove that the seas are in fact a viable environment for humans,” Koch said.  

The underwater capsule was located about 15 minutes by boat off the coast of northern Panama. It was connected by a pipe to another camera above the water. The pipe had a narrow spiral staircase that guests, including doctors and journalists, could use to get down to the engineer.  

Electricity was provided by solar panels, and the capsule was equipped with everything necessary for life, except for a shower. Rudiger's room had a bed, a toilet, a TV, a computer, the Internet, and even an exercise bike. Four video cameras recorded his stay around the clock.  

On his bedside table, Koch kept his favorite book, Jules Verne's novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, which tells the story of Captain Nemo's adventures on the submarine Nautilus.