Humans have reached the moons and explored much about each and every corner of the universe and the planet, but still, one thing remains unexplored till now, where the humans have never been. That's the Earth's mantle. Plans are being made for the exploration of the inner portion of the Earth.
According to CNN, a group of Japanese scientists is planning to be the first group ever for successfully drilling into the Earth's mantle, the portion below the outer crust. This will help them in exploring some information regarding the formation of planet Earth and the composition of the mantle. The project is taken up by the researchers of Japan's Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC).
The drilling for earth's mantle will be done with the help of an undersea drill called "Chikyu", which is designed for drilling deeper into the earth than any other ship. Chikyu will be drilling through 2.5 miles of water leading to 3.7 miles of crust and then finally reaching to the mantle. This makes up to approx. 84 percent of earth's volume.
Engadget reported that with the help of this project, researchers also want to explore how the crust formed by investigating the boundary between the oceanic crust and earth's mantle. The drill is expected to begin by 2030 at the latest. A perfect location is needed, for which the scientists have to work further on this project. The project needs a funding of $542 million.
One more objective of this project for drilling into the earth's mantle is about finding that how deep microbial life exists inside the earth. Scientists will be able to find the limit of life inside the Earth if any. More research is to be done before starting the drilling. If the project is successful, scientists will be able to know the whole Earth history.
