The researchers talked about their early aspirations to conquer the ocean

While the whole world was watching the launch of the first satellites, the flights of astronauts and preparations for the landing of a man on the Moon, another scientific race was unfolding in parallel, which is much less often remembered today. In the middle of the 20th century, many engineers, oceanographers, and futurists were convinced that permanent settlements on the ocean floor would be the next step in the development of civilization.

People have already been living underwater for weeks, governments have funded the construction of underwater laboratories, and scientists have seriously discussed creating entire cities. However, after several decades, this idea has practically disappeared from the agenda. Why humanity abandoned one of the boldest concepts of the last century and whether it could one day become a reality — in the material of Izvestia.

When did people first want to live underwater

Dreams of living underwater appeared long before the advent of modern submarines. Science fiction of the 19th century played a huge role in this, most notably Jules Verne's novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, published in 1870. His Captain Nemo and the Nautilus submarine impressed readers so much that they began to perceive the ocean not only as an unexplored space, but also as a possible place for a future civilization. Already in the first half of the 20th century, magazines regularly published illustrations of underwater cities, sea roads, trains, and even cars that were supposed to appear in a few decades.

This topic became especially popular in the 1930s and 1950s. Projects of transparent domes on the seabed, underwater research stations and huge complexes where people can live, work and extract minerals were published on the pages of popular science publications. Then it seemed that the ocean was the same unexplored frontier that space would later become. Its vast resources, rich ecosystem and almost complete lack of research only fueled the interest of scientists.

However, by the middle of the 20th century, conversations gradually began to turn into real engineering projects. The development of scuba diving, deep-sea technology and new materials has allowed us to move from fantasy to experimentation. The researchers wanted to test the main question: is a person capable of not just diving into the depths, but living there for a long time.

The 1960s: a time when the ocean almost defeated space

The real heyday of underwater exploration occurred in the 1960s. It was then that French oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau launched the famous Conshelf program, in which people first settled in special sealed houses on the seabed. The participants in the experiments spent several days underwater, then weeks, studying the effect of such an environment on the body and proving that prolonged stay underwater is really possible.

Almost simultaneously, similar projects were developing in the USA. The Navy launched the SEALAB program, and later the Tektite research station appeared, where scientists lived and worked at depth for several weeks. They were called aquanauts, by analogy with astronauts. The main goal was not only to study the ocean, but also to understand how the human body tolerates prolonged exposure to high pressure conditions.

It is interesting that people closely associated with the US space program also took part in underwater research. One of the most famous aquanauts was the astronaut of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Scott Carpenter, who made an orbital flight on the Aurora 7 spacecraft in 1962.

A few years later, he joined the SEALAB II expedition, spending about a month on the seabed. According to Carpenter himself, living underwater and working in space are similar in many ways: both require a long stay in an isolated environment, strict discipline and the ability to make decisions away from familiar conditions. That is why the experience of the aquanauts was later used in the preparation of some space programs.

It seemed that humanity was really on the threshold of a new era. Some scientists predicted that by the end of the 20th century permanent settlements, research complexes and even the first underwater cities would appear on the seabed. In those years, such ideas were not perceived as fiction — on the contrary, they seemed to be a logical continuation of rapid technological progress. Many were sure that after conquering the sky and going into space, the ocean would become the next human home.

Why did underwater cities never appear?

Despite the impressive successes of the first underwater expeditions, by the mid-1970s, most of these projects began to be gradually closed. The reason wasn't that people couldn't live underwater. On the contrary, experiments by Conshelf, SEALAB, and Tektite have proven that humans are capable of spending weeks and even months at depth. The main problem turned out to be the cost of such a life, both literally and in an engineering sense.

Life on the seabed required the most complex life support systems. Inside the underwater stations, it was necessary to maintain high pressure, provide the crew with a breathing mixture, monitor carbon dioxide levels, and organize regular supplies of equipment and food.

Returning to the surface was particularly difficult: after a long stay under high pressure, the aquanauts underwent prolonged decompression to avoid developing decompression sickness. It is these physiological limitations that have become one of the main reasons why permanent settlements under water have not been widely developed.

The economic factor turned out to be equally important. If in the early 1960s ocean exploration was perceived as one of the main areas of science, then after the successful landing of a man on the moon, the attention of governments gradually shifted to space programs. Funding for expensive underwater projects was declining, and many developments remained at the experimental stage. As Popular Science notes, the ocean unexpectedly lost to space, not because it turned out to be less interesting, but because it was space exploration that became a symbol of the scientific and political leadership of the era.

Over time, it became obvious that for most oceanographic studies, the constant presence of humans at depth is not necessary. The development of remotely operated vehicles, autonomous underwater robots, and modern deep-sea research systems has made it possible to perform many tasks faster, safer, and significantly cheaper. Today, it is precisely such devices that explore the seabed, study underwater ecosystems, and operate at depths where it is extremely difficult or impossible for humans to reach.

Will the dream of living underwater come back

Despite the fact that the idea of underwater cities has practically disappeared from popular culture, research on the seabed continues. One of the most famous operating underwater laboratories remains Aquarius Reef Base, located off the coast of Florida.

Scientists conduct research on marine ecosystems here, and due to its long stay in an isolated environment, the station has long been used by NASA as part of the NEEMO program to train astronauts. Working underwater made it possible to simulate many conditions of future space expeditions, including limited space, delayed communications, and performing complex operations far from the familiar environment.

Interest in deep-sea research remains high also because the world's oceans have so far been studied only partially. According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, more than 80% of the ocean remains unexplored, insufficiently mapped, or not observed at all by modern methods. That is why scientists continue to develop new technologies for deep-sea research, including autonomous vehicles, robotic complexes and modern research stations, which gradually expand knowledge about the seabed.

Most likely, the forecasts of futurologists in the middle of the last century will not come true in the form in which they imagined them. Instead of huge cities under transparent domes, humanity has chosen automatic underwater vehicles, robots and remote research. But the very idea of ocean exploration has not disappeared.

Just like 60 years ago, the depths of the sea remain one of the last truly unexplored places on Earth. Perhaps underwater cities will remain a beautiful dream of the 20th century. However, history shows that the wildest ideas sometimes come back when technology finally makes it possible to bring them to life.