China's extraordinary endeavor to explore Earth's mysteries has begun with the launch of an unprecedented 11,100-meter drilling project in the harsh Taklamakan Desert. This scientific mission aims to penetrate multiple continental layers dating back to the Cretaceous period, which emerged 145 million years ago. The ambitious project represents one of…
Aw. That’s kinda sad. Just a few months ago i was saying how it’s crazy that Kola is still the deepest we ever got, so i was excited when i read the title. I thought let’s go, finally a deeper hole. But then i saw it’s in burger units not meters…
Then again, Kola was also not initially planned to be as deep as it ended up being. So there is still a chance once the project gets underway that they will just keep going to see how far they can get. 32k to 40k is not insignificant but it might be doable.
For comparison, the longest (non-vertical) drilled holes (oil wells) max out at 50k feet. 9 out of the 10 longest were made by Russia off the coast of Sakhalin. Drilling deep into the crust poses different challenges of course but maybe there’s tech that’s cross-applicable.
Aw. That’s kinda sad. Just a few months ago i was saying how it’s crazy that Kola is still the deepest we ever got, so i was excited when i read the title. I thought let’s go, finally a deeper hole. But then i saw it’s in burger units not meters…
Then again, Kola was also not initially planned to be as deep as it ended up being. So there is still a chance once the project gets underway that they will just keep going to see how far they can get. 32k to 40k is not insignificant but it might be doable.
For comparison, the longest (non-vertical) drilled holes (oil wells) max out at 50k feet. 9 out of the 10 longest were made by Russia off the coast of Sakhalin. Drilling deep into the crust poses different challenges of course but maybe there’s tech that’s cross-applicable.