Ohio businessman discovers “scientific gold” during historic dives to ocean abyss.
Real estate investor and philanthropist Larry Connor successfully completed three dives in just five days to the deepest ocean depths in the Mariana Trench this month, discovering what scientists told him was “scientific gold,” during his exploration effort.
Connor made the trip less than 10 months before he’s scheduled to pilot the first private mission to the International Space Station, he told the Enquirer this weekend, while sharing the details of his trip. He is also on pace to make history as the first person to accomplish both feats within 12 months.
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Connor, the founder and CEO of The Connor Group, a Dayton-based real estate investment firm with over $3 billion in assets, also has properties in Blue Ash, Mason and Oakley.
He made the historic dives with Patrick Lahey, president and co-founder of Triton Submarines, in a Triton 36000/2, named the DSV Limiting Factor.
The pair gathered high-quality video footage and samples in the “hadal zone” or the area of the ocean below 20,000 feet, what Connor calls, “the final frontier of exploration on Earth.”
The three explorations took Connor to a location in the Western Pacific Ocean near Guam.
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Captain Stuart Buckle commanded the expedition’s vessel (DSSV Pressure Drop) throughout the five-day mission led by expedition leader Rob McCallum of EYOS Expeditions.
“We actually did three dives and you know, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.,” he shared. “It is kind of surreal when you are going to travel to 36,000 feet below the ocean’s surface to Challenger Deep, which was the first dive we did and then two days later we did a second dive 35,000 feet deep to Serena Deep.”
The crew then took a day off to do maintenance on the submersible, and then conducted a dive 25,000 feet to a place that is unnamed. It is an extinct volcano, and while down at that depth, they discovered something special.
Connor and Lackey captured footage of the Mariana snailfish, the only species of fish known to survive at a depth of 26,240 feet. The duo also recovered scientific samples of bacterial mats and deep-sea anemones.
They (scientists) knew the fish existed because they have had remote control (robotic) discovery of the fish but we were the first humans to see one,” Connor said. “It is the deepest known fish to exist and we saw it at 25,000 feet.”
Connor said the Mariana fish is luminescent and is about 8 or 9 inches long and maybe an inch-and-a-half thick and it moves like a snake.
“It just kind of came cruising by and left,” he said, adding that he and Leahy gathered footage of never-before-seen areas of the ocean floor. They also recovered scientific samples of bacterial mats and deep-sea anemones.
“Capturing the Mariana snailfish on video is scientific gold,” chief scientist Dr. Alan Jamieson said, responding to a request about the dives. “Larry and Patrick are the first humans to spot this fish alive in its habitat. They also brought back hours of astonishing footage and samples that will help us better understand the geologic and biologic makeup of the hadal zone.”
Connor’s dives to depths of nearly 36,000 feet into the ocean’s abyss covered more ground than researchers had previously accomplished between 1960 to 2015, according to information from the team assembled for the project.
“Over that 55-year timeframe, only two dives had ever been completed to these depths,” Connor said. “To successfully complete three dives in just five days into the darkest, most inhospitable and unknown parts of Earth is an endeavor I was honored to be a part of.”
The dives were made possible by using the world’s only certified, state-of-the-art full ocean depth submersible.
“The Triton 3600/2 or Limiting Factor submersible is a revolutionary craft, which has fundamentally changed our relationship with the deepest and most remote parts of our ocean by providing safe, daily access to them for the first time in history,” Lahey said.
Scientists plan to study the information gathered on these three dives, which could further advance medical compounds, commercial resources and create a deeper understanding of evolution, Connor explained.
He added that in June he will start training for his next feat, which is an expedition to outer space and the International Space Station.
Connor is scheduled to pilot the first private mission to the ISS with Houston-based Axiom Space, a privately funded space infrastructure developer, in February of 2022.
He said he is partnering with experts at the Mayo and Cleveland Clinics to focus on scientific research during the eight-day space mission.
Read More: Ohio businessman discovers “scientific gold” during historic dives to ocean abyss.