China’s ocean drilling ship Mengxiang aims to be first to reach Earth’s mantle, opening ‘gate to hell’

China has unveiled its first ocean drilling vessel, the Mengxiang, which is designed to carry out an unprecedented mission: drilling through the Earth’s crust.

If successful, this will mark humanity’s first venture into the upper mantle, providing new insights and potentially reaching new frontiers in Earth science research.

The massive ship, whose name means “dream” in Chinese, was created by the China Geological Survey along with over 150 research institutes and companies. It can carry about 33,000 tonnes of cargo and measures 179 metres (590 feet) long by 32.8 metres wide. It can travel 15,000 nautical miles (27,800km) and operate for 120 days per port call, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.

The vessel’s stability and structure are designed to withstand the strongest tropical cyclones, enabling it to operate anywhere in global waters. Its drilling power is the best in its class, with the ability to reach 11,000 metres (6.8 miles) below the sea’s surface.

The Earth’s structure consists of the core, mantle, and crust. Human activities and scientific exploration have been limited to the crust’s surface layer. The crust has an average thickness of 15,000 metres – minuscule compared with the Earth’s radius of 6,371km.