James Cameron Makes Historic Journey to Bottom of the Ocean

3:45 PM PDT 3/25/2012 by THR staff

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Kevin Winter/Getty Images

The Oscar-winning director is one of only three men to ever travel to the deepest part of the ocean in the Mariana Trench.

James Cameron has broken another record—but this time not at the box office.

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The filmmaker and explorer has made a remarkable solo trip in his uniquely designed submersible to the Mariana Trench’s Challenger Deep, the ocean’s deepest point, according to National Geographic.

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The dive makes Cameron the first human to alone reach the Challenger Deep—roughly 7 miles beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean and roughly 200 miles from Guam.

Cameron, a National Geographic explorer, began his historic trip at 5:50 a.m. Monday, local time. He reached a depth of 35,756 feet in the solo submarine. When he reached the bottom, Cameron’s first words the the support crew waiting at the surface were, “All systems OK.” He plans to spend up to six hours on the Pacific Ocean seafloor, collecting samples for scientific research.

At about 3 p.m. PT, Cameron tweeted, "Just arrived at the ocean's deepest pt. Hitting bottom never felt so good. Can't wait to share what I'm seeing w/ you."

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Cameron’s previous trips in a submersible have included those to Titanic, the subject of his 1997 feature film, as well as of his 2003 3D documentary Ghosts of the Abyss.

For Ghosts, he and cinematographer Vince Pace developed a 3D camera system, which was an early version of the one used to shoot Avatar and many other feature and TV productions. Cameron is co-chairman of Cameron |Pace Group, which offers 3D technologies and production services.

The Avatar director has brought 3D cameras on his journey to the Mariana Trench with an eye toward a documentary as well as scientific research, according to National Geographic.

More information can be found here.