Searching for the Titanic

    The news of the Titanic disaster shocked the world. People wanted the ship to be found. Some families hoped their loved ones had survived inside the wreck. 

    But the Titanic was at the bottom of the ocean. It was under more than 2 miles of water. No person could survive in water so deep—even if they had air to breathe. 

    That’s because of something called water pressure. Water pressure is the force of water pushing against the body from all directions. As water gets deeper, water pressure becomes stronger. Lungs can’t breathe. Blood can’t flow. Hearts can’t beat. 

    This is why humans had never explored the deep sea. The Titanic seemed lost forever.

    The Titanic disaster shocked the world. People wanted the ship to be found. Some hoped their loved ones had survived inside the wreck.

    But the Titanic was at the bottom of the ocean. It was under more than 2 miles of water. No person could survive in water so deep, even if they had air to breathe.

    That’s because of water pressure. Water pressure is the force of water pushing against the body from all sides. As water gets deeper, water pressure gets stronger. Lungs can’t breathe. Blood can’t flow. Hearts can’t beat.

    This is why humans had never explored the deep sea. The Titanic seemed lost forever.

    The news of the Titanic disaster shocked the world. People wanted the ship to be found. Some families hoped their loved ones had survived inside the wreck.

    But the Titanic was at the bottom of the ocean, under more than 2 miles of water. No person could survive in water so deep—even if they had air to breathe.

    That’s because of water pressure, the force of water pushing against the body from all directions. As water gets deeper, water pressure increases. Lungs can’t breathe. Blood can’t flow. Hearts can’t beat.

    For this reason, humans had never explored the deep sea—and so the Titanic seemed lost forever.

    In 1977, Ballard and a small team set out for the North Atlantic to look for the Titanic. Hopes were high. But just days into the voyage, a huge piece of Ballard’s ship plunged into the sea. He had no choice but to return home.

    Ballard wanted to try again. But it was hard to get more money for another trip. So he decided to focus on another dream he had.  

    For years, Ballard had wanted to create a better way to explore the deep sea. Submersibles let scientists like Ballard go deep underwater. But the trips were dangerous, and the submersibles could stay down for only a few hours at a time. 

    Ballard had a new idea. He wanted to build a remote-controlled submersible. This one wouldn’t need a human to go inside. Also, it would be covered with cameras. It would take pictures and videos that scientists could watch from a ship above.

    In 1977, Ballard and a small team set out for the North Atlantic to look for the Titanic. Hopes were high. But just days into the journey, a piece of Ballard’s ship plunged into the sea. He had to go home.

    Ballard wanted to try again. But he didn’t have enough money. So he decided to work on something else.  

    Ballard wanted a better way to explore the deep sea. Scientists could go deep underwater in submersibles. But the trips were dangerous. And the submersibles could stay down for only a few hours.

    Ballard decided to build a remote-controlled submersible. It wouldn’t need a human to go inside. And it would be covered with cameras. It would take pictures and videos that scientists could watch from a ship above.

    In 1977, Ballard and a small team set out for the North Atlantic to search for the Titanic. Hopes were high. But only days into the voyage, a huge piece of Ballard’s ship plunged into the sea, forcing the team to return home.

    Ballard wanted to try again, but it was difficult to get the money he would need for another attempt. Instead, he decided to concentrate on a different goal.  

    For years, Ballard had wanted to create a safer, more effective way to explore the deep sea. Submersibles allowed scientists like Ballard to go deep underwater—but the trips were dangerous, and the submersibles could stay down for only a few hours at a time.

    Ballard wanted to build a remote-controlled submersible that would carry cameras, not people, deep underwater. His invention would take pictures and videos that scientists could watch from a ship above.

    On September 1, 1985, Ballard went to his room to rest. He felt discouraged. Soon they’d have to return home. Was this trip going to end like the first, in failure?

    He had just gotten into bed when he was called back to the control room. On the screen was a huge metal object. Ballard’s heart pounded. He knew what he was looking at: part of the Titanic’s engine. They had done it! 

    In the coming days, Ballard and the team would make dazzling discoveries. The biggest one: The ship had cracked in half just before it sank. Debris was scattered for more than a mile. They found dishes, shoes, and jewels on the seafloor. 

    But Ballard didn’t take any of those treasures. He explored the shipwreck of the Titanic but left it untouched. He wanted to always honor the memory of those who had lost their lives on that starlit night in 1912. 

    On September 1, 1985, Ballard went to his room to rest. He felt discouraged. Soon they would have to go home. Would this trip end like the first, in failure?

    Then he was called back to the control room. On the screen, he saw a huge metal object. It was part of the Titanic’s engine. Ballard’s heart pounded. They had done it!

    After that, the team made many discoveries. The biggest one: The ship had cracked in half before it sank. Debris was scattered for more than a mile. They found dishes, shoes, and jewels on the seafloor.

    Ballard explored the wreck. But he didn’t take any of the treasures. He left the wreck untouched. He wanted to honor the memory of those who had lost their lives on that starlit night in 1912. •

    On September 1, 1985, a very discouraged Ballard went to his room to rest. Soon he and the team would have to return home. Was this trip to the North Atlantic going to end like the first, in failure?

    He had just gotten into bed when he was called back to the control room. On the screen was a huge metal object. Ballard’s heart pounded as he realized he was looking at part of the Titanic’s engine. They had done it!

    Over the following days, Ballard and the team made dazzling discoveries. The most important was that the ship had cracked in half just before it sank. Debris was scattered for more than a mile. They found dishes, shoes, and jewels on the seafloor.

    But Ballard didn’t remove any of those treasures from the ocean floor. He explored the shipwreck of the Titanic but left it untouched. He wanted to always honor the memory of the people who had lost their lives on that starlit night in 1912. •