List of people who descended to Challenger Deep

Sonar mapping of the Challenger Deep by the DSSV Pressure Drop employing a Kongsberg SIMRAD EM124 multibeam echosounder system (26 April–4 May 2019)

The Challenger Deep (CD) is the deepest known point in the Earth's seabed hydrosphere, with depths exceeding 10,900 meters,^[1] located in the Federated States of Micronesia.^[2] In 2019, sonar mapping of Challenger Deep by the DSSV Pressure Drop, which employed a Kongsberg SIMRAD EM124 multi beam echosounder system, showed three 'pools' – Western, Central and Eastern – that comprised the bottom of Challenger Deep.^[3]

In 1960, Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard were the first two individuals to reach Challenger Deep, completing that dive as a team.^[4] James Cameron was the first person to solo Challenger Deep, 52 years later. Astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan and Mountaineer Vanessa O'Brien were the first two women to visit Challenger Deep in 2020.^[5] Victor Vescovo has made the most dives to Challenger Deep; by March 2021 he had made nine dives to the Eastern pool, two to the Western pool and one to the Central pool for a total of 12 dives.^[6]

The following is a list of individuals who have descended to Challenger Deep in the Federated States of Micronesia. These individuals will have descended at least 10,900 m (35,761 ft) into one of the three pools (western, central or eastern) that constitute Challenger Deep. ^[7][8]

Year	Order	Name		Submersible	Location	Notes
January 23, 1960	1st (tie)	Don Walsh Jacques Piccard		Trieste	Western Pool	World first; depth record
March 25, 2012	3rd	James Cameron		Deepsea Challenger	Eastern Pool	First solo
May 2019	4th	Victor Vescovo		Limiting Factor	Eastern Pool	Depth record; two solo dives
2019	5th (tie)	Patrick Lahey[9] Jonathan Struwe[10]		Limiting Factor	Eastern Pool	Deepest marine recovery
2019	7th	John Ramsay[11]		Limiting Factor	Central Pool	Limiting Factor's designer. Pilot: Lahey
2020[12]	8th	Kathryn Sullivan		Limiting Factor	Eastern Pool	First woman and first astronaut. Pilot: Vescovo
2020[13]	9th	Vanessa O'Brien		Limiting Factor	Eastern Pool	Second woman to Challenger Deep; first woman to Earth's highest and lowest points.[14][15] Pilot: Vescovo
2020	10th	John Rost[16]		Limiting Factor	Eastern Pool	Longest time at bottom: 4.2 hours. Pilot: Vescovo
2020	11th	Kelly Walsh[17]		Limiting Factor	Western Pool	Son of Don Walsh. First father and son. Pilot: Vescovo
2020	12th	Ying-Tsong Lin[18]		Limiting Factor	Central Pool	First Asian. Pilot: Vescovo
2020	13th			Limiting Factor	Eastern Pool	Oldest person. Pilot: Vescovo[19]
2020	14th (tie)	3 scientists		Fendouzhe (奋斗者, Striver)	Unknown	First PRC citizens (2 male, 1 female). Pilot: unknown[20][21][22]
2021	17th	Richard Garriott		Limiting Factor	Eastern Pool	First to both poles, space and Challenger Deep. First male astronaut to Challenger Deep. Pilot: Vescovo [23]
2021	18th	Michael Dubno		Limiting Factor	Eastern Pool	Pilot: Vescovo[24]
2021	19th	Hamish Harding		Limiting Factor	Eastern Pool	Pilot: Vescovo[25][better source needed]
2021	20th	Nicole Yamase		Limiting Factor	Western Pool	First local citizen. Pilot: Vescovo[26][better source needed]
2021	21st (tie)	Rob McCallum Tim Macdonald		Limiting Factor	Western Pool	First New Zealander[27] and first Australian.[27] Pilot: Macdonald[28]

References[]