- Like my grandfather Jacques Cousteau used to say
the impossible missions are the only ones that succeed.
And before humankind had explored the moon
my family set out to explore the sea.
That's why they launched the Continental Shelf Initiative,
a series of underwater research laboratories,
the likes of which the world had never seen.
In 1960, my grandfather joined by my father Philippe Sr.
set out to build an underwater research station for
their growing team of oceanauts.
They were kind of like you guys.
Two years later Conshelf was dropped at a depth
of about 30 feet off the coast of Marseille.
A yellow steel cylinder, 16 feet long and 8 feet in diameter
it served as a home and lab for its two inhabitants
for a week.
A short time later Conshelf II was dropped onto
a reef in the Red Sea, where we find ourselves today.
Not only was Conshelf a research platform for
marine scientists.
- It was also a human experiment to test the effects
of isolation and sun deprivation.
- [Blond Man] Six oceanauts spent a month living at
depths of up to 82 feet.
Nowadays, Conshelf II, covered in coral and algae
is teeming with lionfish, clownfish,
and beautiful anemones.
The experiment proved that explorers can live underwater
for protracted periods of time.
But that the lack of sunlight made them a little bit loopy.
- [Male Voice] How long have we been down here?
- I've lost track.
I guess you could say these submarines
are better suited for animals than people.
- We are people, right?