The Bathysphere is basically a sphere that was attached with a steel cable to the main ship. Maneuverability of the Bathysphere was very limited, only moving up and down. If this cable snapped, the Bathysphere would plummet down to the depths of the abyss of the deep blue ocean. The Bathysphere was the first time humans were able to explore the deep ocean, setting a record for the deepest dive during that time – 3,200 ft (992 meters) .

In 1937, Auguste Piccard had designs for a Bathyscaphe which was essentially an improved version of the Bathysphere. It was in the shape of a small gondola made of steel, and there was a large compartment attached to the gondola that was filled with gasoline. The gasoline was used as buoyancy since it was lighter than water. There was also tons of ballast in the compartments used to weigh down the Bathyscaphe. The Bathyscaphe was a huge improvement from the Bathysphere because it was not attached to a steel cable and the submarine was able to explore at its own will. This submarine could dive up to 10,000 ft (3,048 meters) . On January 23rd 1960, Jacques Piccard, Auguste’s son, and Donald Walsh, a US Navy Lieutenant, piloted the Trieste to the bottom of Challengers Deep, the deepest part of the Marianas Trench. It took the vessel 4 hours and 48 minutes to reach the bottom of the trench at about 35,800 ft. The expedition of the Trieste allowed scientists to learn about the geology of the Marianas Trench, and they realized that the ocean bed was able to sustain marine life as their mercury lamps reflected small, red shrimp like creatures. After sitting at the bottom for 20 minutes, they released the ballast and started their ascent journey which was shorter than the descent trip – 3 hours and 17 minutes.