The aptly named Blue Abyss pool will be built in Cornwall, south west England, and will hold 42 million liters of water — equivalent to that of 17 Olympic size swimming pools, or 168 million cups of tea, the company said.
It will be 164 feet (50 meters) deep, 164 feet long, and 131 feet (40 meters) wide.
Keen swimmers hoping to test out the £150m ($211m) pool may be disappointed, however, as the Blue Abyss is designed to simulate “extreme environments.”
It will be set up for testing the latest underwater technology, including subsea robotics and mini submersibles.
The pool will also be used to help train astronauts and deep sea divers, with hypobaric and hyperbaric chambers and a microgravity suite on site.
John Vickers, chief executive of Blue Abyss, said in a statement the pool would be a “huge research asset for aerospace, offshore energy, underwater robotics, human physiology, defense, leisure and marine industries, and a fantastic education center for children and university students.”
Tim Peake, who was the first British astronaut to board the International Space Station in 2015 and spent six months in space — and ran a marathon on a treadmill while there — sits on the Blue Abyss board.
He said in a statement he was “proud” to be part of its development, adding that Blue Abyss would “widen our knowledge of how humans and technology can function in extreme environments, for the benefit of people and the planet.”
According to edition.cnn.com. Source of photos: internet
