Scientists Plan World-Record Drilling Attempt To Go Deeper Into The Earth's Crust Than Ever Before

Scientists Plan Daring Expedition To Drill Deeper Into The Earth Than Ever Before

Scientists will, this week, start to drill into the Earth's crust in the hopes of becoming the first humans to reach the Earth's mantle.

This momentous task involves setting a few world records and will see them drill over 5.5km down into the seabed of the Indian Ocean.

Their goal is the Earth's deep and mysterious interior, the mantle. The task will take years to complete and involves travelling 700m below the ocean just to reach the the Earth's surface.

The team behind it told the BBC that they have the funding for this first drilling session but that it might not be until 2020 before the team finally break through the crust.

According to the researchers this isn't the first time that attempts have been made to try and break through the Earth's crust, however this is the time that they think they can succeed.

Choosing the location was important, this particular spot of the Indian Ocean is incredibly weak thanks to heavy faulting and erosion.

In its simplest form the goals are to take samples of rock that have never been seen or tested before, but in the bigger picture it'll be the first opportunity ever for scientists to gain samples of the mantle, the largest segment of the layers that make up the Earth's composition.

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