
Proteus: Underwater research lab worthy of a Bond villain - shivghosh8
https://www.cnet.com/news/proteus-is-an-underwater-research-lab-worthy-of-a-bond-villain/
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sradman
> The plan is to build Proteus off the coast of the Caribbean island of
> Curaçao, at a depth of 60 feet (~18m).

An underwater lab at only 2 atmospheres on an island famous for its shore
diving accessible by car? This reminds me of a Freeman Dyson quote I
referenced [0] in a different thread on underwater exploration:

> [The Russians] are very proud of the space station and for good reasons.
> They believe that human activities in space are an end in itself,
> essentially as an international sporting event. They don't sell it under
> false pretences as a scientific program.

[0]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23482656](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23482656)

[1] [https://perimeterinstitute.ca/videos/living-through-four-
rev...](https://perimeterinstitute.ca/videos/living-through-four-revolutions)

~~~
wdb
Why do they want to build in near Curaçao? Sounds like a great way to ruin the
already weak water ecosystem near Curacao. I have to admit I have a summer
house in Curaçao so might be biased.

~~~
sradman
I suspect that the same characteristics that make Bonaire and Curaçao a haven
for shore diving simplify the design of the underwater lab:

> Fresh air, power and internet will be provided by an umbilical cable to the
> surface.

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sandworm101
>> One of the other big names he's enlisted is Yves Béhar, a name you might
recognize from a variety of tech projects like One Laptop per Child. He and
his company Fuzeproject designed the futuristic-looking station.

Um ... wasn't that the premise behind an Archer episode? Sea Tunt? The rich
Tunt brother had backed both the sea base and one laptop per child. Is this
the tail wagging the dog or at some personal level is there a link to the
show?

~~~
makerofspoons
That is an interesting connection for sure. The gag was "One Laptop per Child
Soldier":
[https://archer.fandom.com/wiki/Cecil_Tunt](https://archer.fandom.com/wiki/Cecil_Tunt)

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Cantbekhan
It's worth mentioning that there were many similar and even larger (and also
much deeper) underwater labs and habitats since the 1960s.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_habitat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_habitat)

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gambiting
So.....an underwater lab where the whole premise is not having to do a lengthy
decompression....and yet it's only down at 18m depth? Reading the article I
thought they were aiming for much deeper than that, it seems like there's
hardly any benefit at the dept given. According to this[0] table,
decompression from that depth takes just 2 hours?

[0]
[https://www.hse.gov.uk/pUbns/dvis5.pdf](https://www.hse.gov.uk/pUbns/dvis5.pdf)

~~~
sandworm101
If we are comparing this thing to the ISS, an emergency return from the ISS
would take just under five hours. So someone with an appendicitis can probably
get home before dying. Much further away than a few hours and otherwise
routine medical emergencies start get much more difficult.

~~~
fastball
That's why you just send the doctor down to the sea lab!

~~~
sradman
Or have a chamber nearby on the surface staffed by doctors trained in
hyperbaric medicine [1].

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbaric_medicine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbaric_medicine)

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slowhand09
Funny the story completely missed "Fantastic Voyage" movie
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Voyage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Voyage))
which had a research submarine called "Proteus".

~~~
aerostable_slug
I was happy to read that at least some of the journalists covering Victor
Vescovo's recent dives got the references in his vessel names (I think it's
not unlikely the later ones cribbed off the first few articles).

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sparsely
Someone's been playing too much Subnautica

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GekkePrutser
I don't really get this - is the bends the only reason for doing this? If so,
why not mix some other inert gas than Nitrogen that doesn't have the problem?

Cool base though :)

