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China to Build Deep Sea Case Run by Robots

Chinese structures are seen in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in April last year. © Reuters
Chinese structures are seen in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in April last year. © Reuters
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China to Build Deep Sea Case Run by Robots

Chinese structures are seen in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in April last year. © Reuters
Chinese structures are seen in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in April last year. © Reuters

Artificial Intelligence System (AI) will be used to run the first Chinese deep sea base that no human can reach, the South China Morning Star newspaper reported.

According to reports, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences plan to build a robotic base in the South China Sea. This base could become the first AI settlement in the world.

The base is located at 19685 to 36,100 feet (6 to 11 kilometers) below sea level and will be equipped with power supplies via cables from ships or floating platforms.

It will be designed from interconnecting units like those composing the International Space Station. Robotic submarines that explore the depths of the sea and collect data on marine life will embark from its deep ridges.

The base will also work in collecting and analyzing samples of raw minerals.

Scientists have so far been able to explore only 1% of seas and oceans whose waters cover 70% of the Earth's surface.

The Chinese research will provide data to analyze changes in the Earth climate, explore elements for new drugs and pharmaceuticals, and identify endangered marine organisms. According to scientists' estimates, the cost of the base will reach $160 million.

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SpaceX Set to Launch Mission to Return Stranded Astronauts

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 28: SpaceX Crew-9 Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov (L) (Mission Specialist) and NASA Astronaut Nick Hague (Mission Commander) wear SpaceX spacesuits as they depart from the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Control Building at Kennedy Space Center for Space Launch Complex 40 September 28, 2024 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images/AFP
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 28: SpaceX Crew-9 Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov (L) (Mission Specialist) and NASA Astronaut Nick Hague (Mission Commander) wear SpaceX spacesuits as they depart from the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Control Building at Kennedy Space Center for Space Launch Complex 40 September 28, 2024 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images/AFP
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SpaceX Set to Launch Mission to Return Stranded Astronauts

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 28: SpaceX Crew-9 Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov (L) (Mission Specialist) and NASA Astronaut Nick Hague (Mission Commander) wear SpaceX spacesuits as they depart from the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Control Building at Kennedy Space Center for Space Launch Complex 40 September 28, 2024 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images/AFP
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 28: SpaceX Crew-9 Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov (L) (Mission Specialist) and NASA Astronaut Nick Hague (Mission Commander) wear SpaceX spacesuits as they depart from the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Control Building at Kennedy Space Center for Space Launch Complex 40 September 28, 2024 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images/AFP

A SpaceX mission is set for launch Saturday with two passengers on board, leaving two seats empty to return the American astronauts who have been stranded for months on the International Space Station, NASA said.

The launch of the Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled for 1:17 pm (1717 GMT) from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

It will use a new launch pad, the pad's first use for a crewed mission, AFP reported.

On board will be NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov.

When they return from the space station in February, they will bring back the two space veterans -- Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams -- whose stay on the ISS was prolonged for months by problems with their Boeing-designed Starliner spacecraft.

The newly developed Starliner was making its first crewed flight when it delivered Wilmore and Williams to the ISS in June.

They were supposed to be there for only an eight-day stay, but after problems with the Starliner's propulsion system emerged during the flight there, NASA was forced to weigh a radical change in plans.

After weeks of intensive tests on the Starliner's reliability, the space agency finally decided to return it to Earth without its crew, and to bring the two stranded astronauts back home on the SpaceX mission Crew-9.

"We know that this launch is a bit unique in moving from the plan for crew members to two," NASA associate administrator Jim Free told reporters.

"I do want to thank SpaceX for their support and flexibility."

SpaceX, the private company founded by billionaire Elon Musk, has been flying regular missions every six months to allow the rotation of ISS crews.

But the launch of Crew-9 was delayed from mid-August to late September to give NASA experts more time to evaluate the reliability of the Starliner and decide how to proceed.

It was then delayed a few more days by the destructive passage of Hurricane Helene, a powerful storm that roared into the opposite coast of Florida on Thursday.

SpaceX's Dragon vessel is set to dock with the ISS on Sunday around 2130 GMT.

After a period to allow a handover of duties, the four members of Crew-8 will return to Earth on another SpaceX craft.

In total, Hague and Gorbunov will spend some five months on the ISS; Wilmore and Williams, eight months.

In all, Crew-9 will conduct some 200 scientific experiments.