Chinese submersible Jiaolong to dive to 6,300 meters in Mariana Trench

Jiaolong, China's manned submersible, is about to dive into the Mariana Trench, May 23, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Thursday's mission will be Jiaolong's second dive in the Mariana Trench this year, which is expected to take less than 10 hours.

The submersible will collect seawater, rocks and samples of marine life,and also conduct observation, measurement and photography near the seabed.

Chinese scientists plan to carry out a total of five dives in the Mariana Trench.

The first dive took place on Tuesday, with Xinhua News Agency journalist Liu Shiping descending inside the submersible along with scientists to 4,811 meters below the sea's surface.