'Exosuit' Mission to 2,000-Year-Old Shipwreck Begins

livescience.com ^ | September 16, 2014 11:47am | Megan Gannon,

[BenLurkin]

Sponge divers first discovered the 2,000-year-old shipwreck off the Greek island Antikythera in 1900. They recovered fragments of bronze statues, corroded marble sculptures, gold jewelry and, most famously, the Antikythera mechanism, a clocklike astronomical calculator sometimes called the world's oldest computer. Teams led by Jacques Cousteau pulled up more artifacts and even found human remains when they visited the wreck in the 1950s and 1970s.

But none of those previous expeditions had access to the Exosuit, a one-of-a-kind diving outfit that weighs 530 lbs. (240 kilograms), and can plunge to the extraordinary depths of 1,000 feet (305 meters) and stay underwater for hours without the diver being at risk of decompression sickness. [See Photos of the Exosuit and Antikythera Shipwreck]

[Mr. K]

this is the suit where you breathe in oxygenated liquid into your lungs, isn’t it?

that must be freaky

[Scoutmaster]

The spec sheet only says two redundant oxygen systems with a capacity of 50 hours and doesn't mention oxygenated liquid, but you may be right.

A thousand feet is not for me. Past 120 feet and you can count me out.

[raybbr]

The Exosuit protects its wearer from decompression sickness because it maintains the level of air pressure humans experience at the surface. Without the threat of the bends, a diver can be pulled up to the surface in just two or three minutes if anything goes wrong.

Just air in a non-compressible suit.

[ryan71]

“The Exosuit protects its wearer from decompression sickness because it maintains the level of air pressure humans experience at the surface. Without the threat of the bends, a diver can be pulled up to the surface in just two or three minutes if anything goes wrong.”

[ryan71]

It’s a submarine that you wear.

[wastedyears]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OxstD2jN08

Something I could never do.

[Jack Hammer]

Those suffering from claustrophobia need not apply.

[Magnum44]

At a thousand feet, if it develops a leak, at least you will never know it.

[Delta Dawn]

That looks like the suit I clean the bathroom in...

[Brother Cracker]

[Scoutmaster]

Once they pressure wash it and use a little duct tape? Good as new.

[Daffynition]

[Ditter]

Right! I get claustrophobic just thinking about it.

[jonascord]

You're letting Hollywood mis-inform you on technology. The breathing oxygenated liquid nonsense is from "The Abyss". (I should say it isn't "nonsense" It's still highly experimental. It's possible, but it doesn't handle CO2 exchange under high pressure, and the technology is still too complex.)

This suit lets you bend your arms and legs while maintaining a sea level atmospheric pressure of 14 psi.

[blackdog]

I remember a myth busters episode where they stopped pumping air into the suit from above, simulating a pump failure. Inside the suit they had a large pig carcass arranged in a human pattern. The entire pig carcass bones and all compressed into the helmet in about ten seconds.

Everyone was horrified at what can happen.

[BenLurkin]

Tom Swift, Jr. had a suit like that!

[NorthMountain]

I had to look that up ... It's a more traditional, pressurized diving helmet system ... but ... when they cut the hose ...

Dang ...

That's really nasty.

[Brother Cracker]

[Covenantor]

Greek sponge divers in the early 1900's free diving to 200 ft? Hellofa working dive. Much better when they started using these.

The exoskelo suit seems like overkill when submersibles are available to do far more than a solo diver in that suit.