Avatar director donates sub to science

BBC : Last year, movie director James Cameron took his Deepsea Challenger submarine to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, almost 11 kilometers below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. He was the first person to have done so in 50 years, and the only one ever to do it solo. While submerged, he filmed three-dimensional images for a National Geographic movie to be released later this year. Because of a lack of funding, however, Cameron decided he would be unable to make a second dive, so he is donating the sub to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The institution, which already operates its own fleet of submersibles, plans to use components from Cameron’s vehicle, such as its lights and cameras. Cameron hopes that the Deepsea Challenger will dive again, but he says that at least its hardware and technology will be preserved.