ON BOARD SHIP XIANGYANGHONG 09 — China’s manned submersible Jiaolong plans to descend to 6,700 in the Mariana Trench on May 30.

The mission will be Jiaolong’s fourth dive in the trench this year.

Jiaolong’s first dive took place on May 23. The second and third dives on May 25 and 27, reached depths of 6,300 meters and 6,544 meters respectively.

The image of one snailfish swimming in the deep sea of Mariana Trench[Photo/Xinhua]

While collecting biological samples in the third dive, fixing devices were used to keep the creatures’ genetic material intact when it reached surface, said Zhang Haibin of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Jiaolong returns to the ferry after the diving mission on May 30, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]