India’s Deep Ocean Mission

Just like how nations raced to explore space in the 20th century, the 21st-century frontier is the deep sea — an area more mysterious than the Moon. India’s Deep Ocean Mission, approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs and implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), is a visionary step to unlock the treasure trove lying beneath 6,000 metres of water.

At the heart of this mission is the exploration and extraction of polymetallic nodules, which are potato-sized rocks lying on the seafloor — rich in manganese (~30%), nickel, copper, and cobalt, all of which are critical for green technologies like EV batteries, solar panels, and electronics.

🚀 Samudrayan

Just as ISRO launched Gaganyaan for space, Samudrayan is India’s first manned mission to explore the deep ocean. Launched in 2021, it makes India one of only six countries — alongside the USA, Russia, France, Japan, and China — to possess this capability.

• Central to this mission is MATSYA 6000, an indigenously developed submersible, built with the collaboration of ISRO, IITM, and DRDO.
• It can carry three humans to depths of 6000 m, equipped with scientific sensors and tools to explore:
  • Polymetallic nodules
  • Gas hydrates
  • Hydrothermal sulphides
  • Cobalt crusts

🔍 Note: A submersible (like MATSYA 6000) differs from a submarine. A submarine is self-powered for long durations; a submersible is ship-dependent and smaller, used for targeted deep-sea missions.

🌍 India and the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB)

The International Seabed Authority (ISA), under UNCLOS (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982), allocates deep-sea mining rights.

• In 1987, India became the first country to receive ‘Pioneer Investor’ status.
• Allocated 1.5 lakh sq. km in CIOB; post resource analysis, India retained 75,000 sq. km and earmarked 18,000 sq. km as the ‘First Generation Mine Site’.
• Estimated resource in this area:
  • Manganese: 92.59 million tonnes
  • Nickel: 4.7 MT
  • Copper: 4.29 MT
  • Cobalt: 0.55 MT
  • Total nodules: 380 MT

⛏️ Mining Readiness:
India has tested mining up to 500 m. A new 6000 m-capable mining machine will now be tested at 5,500 m depth, but commercial mining is still decades away, due to extreme pressure, low temperature, and technological challenges.

🌐 Global Deep Sea Mining Race

Apart from the CIOB, another mineral-rich area is the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Pacific Ocean.

Countries involved in deep-sea mining:

• China, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and small Pacific nations like Kiribati and the Cook Islands.
• Most have only tested in shallow waters; full-scale deep-sea mining is yet to begin.

🛰️ O-SMART Scheme: Ocean-Based Innovation Umbrella

The Ocean Services, Modelling, Applications, Resources, and Technology (O-SMART) scheme is India’s all-encompassing ocean research initiative under the Ministry of Earth Sciences. Key objectives include:

1. Studying Marine Living Resources & their environmental interactions
2. Monitoring sea pollution levels for coastal health
3. Creating shoreline change maps to track erosion
4. Developing ocean observation systems
5. Providing oceanic forecasts, warnings, and user data
6. Creating high-resolution ocean models
7. Innovating marine bioresource technologies
8. Generating freshwater and energy from oceans
9. Developing underwater vehicles and robotic tools
10. Setting up Ballast Water Treatment to prevent invasive species
11. Exploring polymetallic nodules in CIOB (75,000 sq. km)
12. Surveying polymetallic sulphides near Rodrigues Triple Junction (10,000 sq. km)

🧠 Conclusion: Why This Matters

India’s Deep Ocean Mission is not just about minerals. It is about:

• Strategic autonomy in critical materials
• Technological innovation
• Climate-resilient development
• Blue Economy leadership

Just as we turned to space to understand our skies, the deep sea holds keys to our economic future, energy security, and planetary health.