Here’s a shocking fact: of the 71% of the earth that is covered in water, only 5% has been explored. That leaves the VAST majority totally unseen by human eyes.
There could be anything down there… Lost civilizations, megalodons, maybe even pods of Jason Mamoas swimming across the Baltic. You never know.
One way to find out is by hopping in a submarine and going down there, but there’s a reason you don’t hear of too many submarine launches. Between the vast support crew, docking equipment and 8-digit price tags, it’s an activity mostly left to governments and Richard Branson.
Until now…
NEMO super-light manned submersible
The Nemo is the lightest submarine built to date and is designed to make underwater exploration simpler than ever. The craft measures roughly 9′ x 8′ and is smaller than two jet-skis pushed together. Combine that with its 5,510lb weight and you have a submarine that can be towed by most trucks and SUVs.
The Nemo’s spherical cabin seats two passengers (with leather seats and air conditioning no less). Their dedicated “Manta controller” looks not unlike an Xbox accessory and allows for intuitive dives down to 330ft.
An additional “Marlin controller” can operate the submarine from the surface without a pilot inside. Guiding via remote control means the Nemo can be used for things like shuttling untrained passengers back and forth or honing in on a dive site.
NEMO pricing
Considering their choice of using a Bentley Bentayga in their marketing material, you might have a sense of the price range here. The base model Nemo submarine can be ordered from $1,092,559. Add-on packages like sonar or a manipulator arm can bump the price up an additional $30-$60k.
A strong price certainly, but nothing compared to the $3 billion per submarine the Navy spends.
You can learn more about the Nemo, including what it takes to become a pilot at their website.
