- Fabien Cousteau, eldest grandson of the legendary commander Jacques Cousteau, will present the progress of his PROTEUS™ project at SUTUS by Les Roches, the main world event on Space and Underwater Tourism, held in Marbella from September 26 to 28.
- PROTEUS is estimated to be the largest habitat ever built, establishing a ground-breaking underwater platform for the scientific community and underwater tourists to explore extreme environments and understand the importance of the oceans.
- Fabien Cousteau will reflect on the Titan tragedy, its impact and the future of new underwater tourism
- The “International Space Station of the Ocean ” will be located off the coast of Curaçao, in the Caribbean, 20-25 meters deep, with top quality design and materials, to guarantee the safety of all “aquanauts” and visitors.
Marbella, September 20th 2023
The eldest grandson of the legendary French explorer Jacques Cousteau wants to achieve a dream: an international submarine station, in the style of the International Space Station (ISS). It will be called PROTEUS™, in honor of the King of the Sea from Greek mythology, and it will be submerged in the Caribbean waters of Curaçao, 20-25 meters deep for scientists and tourists who will begin to visit it in 2027.
PROTEUS™ will be a next-generation global collaborative scientific platform, enabling both the public and private sectors to conduct research, develop new applications and create innovative technologies.
If the International Space Station (ISS) flies over our heads at 350-400 kilometers 16 times each day, and carries out scientific research at 27,000 kilometers per hour, the Cousteau concept will be similar… but not the same.
The objective of research is the same, (now under the sea), but the speeds of the International Space Station (ISS) are not. Because PROTEUS™ will not move even a millimeter. And aquanauts will replace the astronauts.
Once again SUTUS by Les Roches 2023, which will be held from September 26 to 28 in Marbella, will feature among its speakers Fabien Cousteau, Chief Oceanic Explorer and Co-Founder & Chairman of Proteus Ocean Group, who will tell us the latest details of this ambitious project.
Only 5-7% of our oceans have been explored
Fabien Cousteau believes that “exploring the ocean is like entering the best parts of Alice in Wonderland, since you immerse yourself in an ‘alien’ world, a magical place full of colors and strange creatures for our senses. Only 5 to 7 percent of our oceans have been explored.”
Fabien’s dream is to eventually build a network of underwater habitats in multiple locations. The first PROTEUS™ will be located off the coast of Curaçao , and will be a two-story structure and can accommodate up to 12 aquanauts.
Photo: PROTEUS™
PROTEUS™ will feature a data center, private suites, laboratories, an underwater greenhouse and a video production facility for live broadcasts of scientific research, similar to that of NASA’s space station. It will work with renewable energy such as wind and solar.
For this intrepid marine adventurer, the small percentage of our oceanic world explored to date “still leaves us with a lot to discover, and too many mysteries of life on the planet itself to solve.” PROTEUS™ aims to fill this enormous gap in underwater research.
Cousteau’s great challenge is to live in the deep sea for long periods of time, and he makes a simile between outer space and future colonization missions of the Moon or Mars. Although he adds that he is aware that the exploration and investment destined for outer space is a hundred times greater than that destined for underwater space, “despite the fact that the oceans are our life support system,” he says.
PROTEUS™ will be 20-25 meters deep for many reasons, including scientific goals, safety and practicality reasons. But there will also be deeper sections to work in extreme conditions to study the rich biodiverse deeper mesophotic coral reef system.”
The fourth edition of SUTUS will also feature on its opening day the presence of another prominent member of this ‘International Ocean Space Station’: Gary Rosewell, Director of Partnerships at Proteus Ocean Group. Another enthusiastic marine explorer, also determined to become an aquanaut.
SUTUS 2023 by Les Roches
All SUTUS by Les Roches conferences can be followed through its virtual platform, powered by ‘The Observatory’ of Medina Media Events. Attendees will be able to schedule video meetings with other participants and speakers, as well as visit exclusive online demos.
SUTUS 2023 by Les Roches, under the slogan “Beyond natural borders”, is supported by the Ministry of Tourism of the Andalusian Government, Tourism and Planning of the Costa del Sol, Marbella Town Hall, Progress and Health Foundation of the Department of Health and Consumer Affairs of the Andalusian Regional Government., HALO Space, Marchica Med, ABOVE SPACE, Karlos Simón Viajes y Expediciones and Hotel 5* Alanda Marbella.
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