By Larry Greenemeier, Source: Scientific American

Scientists have long believed that organisms and chemical compounds found in the ocean’s depths could help them solve many medical mysteries . The greatest challenge has been access. The bioluminescent creatures of interest live hundreds of meters down and cannot survive at surface pressure. Yet neuroscientists interested in studying possible connections between patterns of bioluminescence and human brain activity don’t have the equipment needed to observe deep-sea fish in their native environment.

A new Iron Man-like cast aluminum alloy dive suit could soon change this.

The Exosuit—a two-meter, 240-kilogram “atmospheric diving system”—allows a diver to explore up to 305 meters down without succumbing to the cold and intense pressure, which is 30 times greater than at the surface. More than providing protection, the Exosuit features 1.6-horsepower foot-controlled thrusters and 18 rotary joints in the arms and legs to provide a freedom of movement impossible to achieve in even the most nimble submersible.
At least those are the promised benefits of this new apparatus for ocean exploration. The real test of the $1.3 million Exosuit’s worth will come in July, when researchers of the Stephen J. Barlow Bluewater Expedition drop the suit in the ocean about 160 kilometers off the coast of New England. There, Exosuit pilot Michael Lombardi will investigate an area called “The Canyons,” an underwater geographic region that includes a steep drop from the continental shelf to depths of more than three kilometers. The expedition’s goals are to record luminescent flashing patterns from a variety of mid-depth organisms and to identify new bioluminescent molecules with potential for medical applications.

Lombardi will descend at a rate of about 30 meters per minute until he reaches his target depth 10 minutes later. This dive will take place at night, when fish living in the deep ocean do their daily vertical migration to the mid-ocean, or mesopelagic zone, about 300 meters deep. A robotic submarine called the DeepReef-ROV will accompany Lombardi, supplying lights, cameras and other equipment.

See more: Scientific American