China has started a first of its kind project to dig a hole 36,000 feet into the ground to reach the Earth’s crust. The experiment will study areas of the planet that have never been explored previously, including the cretaceous system of rocks which dates back 145 million years. The drilling is taking place in the Tarim basin, a desert area in China’s Xinjiang region, and is expected to take 457 days to complete. The drilling equipment weighs 2,000 tons and was designed to withstand extremely high temperatures and atmospheric pressure. With this research, scientists will be able to study the Earth’s internal features, expand our knowledge of the depths of our planet, and potentially discover new natural resources.
Image via The Guardian
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