Team highlights importance of human exploration of the three deeps

A team of scientists from Southern University of Science and Technology has published a paper highlighting the importance of human exploration in the three deeps – deep space, deep sea, and deep Earth. Their paper is published in the journal Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Research on September 11, 2025.

The Southern Youth Earth Science Forum and Symposium on Deep Space, Deep Sea, and Deep Earth was held in Shenzhen, China, in February 2025. Scientists from nearly 100 institutions in many different countries attended the event. The attendees discussed key scientific issues, innovative approaches, and future breakthrough directions. The attendees also announced, “A Letter of Call for Actions” during the conference to advocate for the establishment of the “Deep Space-Deep Sea-Deep Earth Southern Collaborative Research Alliance.”

This alliance has as its goals to (1) advance interdisciplinary cooperation and data sharing; (2) nurture a new generation of young scientists with forward-looking, interdisciplinary, and leadership capabilities; (3) integrate resources from research institutions and industries to build an AI-powered alliance, driving AI+Three Deeps innovation and industrial development; and (4) promote international cooperation through actively engaging in international initiatives to increase the global impact and address major challenges in Earth and space sciences.

“Based on consensus from an international conference on the deep space, deep sea, and deep Earth (three deeps) exploration, we highlight the importance of human exploration, the inherent close connection among the three fields, and the historical opportunity for the rapid scientific and technological progress,” said Jian Lin, Chair Professor, Southern University of Science and Technology.

In deep space research, scientists focus on exploring the solar system and the far reaches of the universe. With today’s advanced telescopes, space probes, robots, and crewed missions, deep space science is entering a new era of discovery. Deep sea research explores the sunless marine zone deeper than 200 meters. Going even deeper, the hadal zone describes the ocean to depths of more than 6,000 meters. Deep sea trenches, some of the least explored areas on Earth, have now been visited by the Trieste, Deepsea Challenger, and Fendouzhe submersibles. Deep Earth research gives scientists a view into the planet. There, they conduct geophysical exploration that gives them a better understanding of the Earth’s interior through their study of seismic waves, gravity, geomagnetic and electromagnetic fields.

Since the early 2000s, scientists have achieved unparalleled advances in exploring deep space, deep sea, and deep Earth, and in particular, China has achieved remarkable progress. China’s Chang’e-6 probe obtained 1,935.3 grams of lunar samples from the far side of the moon, the Fendouzhe submersible dived to 10,909 meters in the Mariana Trench, and the Mengxiang drilling vessel with its 11 kilometers full ocean drilling capacity was launched in 2023. “Exploring the three deeps is redefining the boundaries of human understanding of the universe and nature,” said Lin.

The science team notes that technological breakthroughs in any of the three deeps have advanced the others. Many deep space exploration technologies have evolved from geophysical Earth-based techniques. For example, Moon- and Mars-quake instruments evolved from seismometers. The technologies used in continental and oceanic drilling have been applied in shallow subsurface sampling on the Moon and Mars. Remote sensing techniques used for space exploration have advanced the development of Earth-orbiting satellites. “The three deeps exploration represents the frontier and future development trend of Earth and planetary sciences. These three fields are closely interconnected and cannot be viewed in isolation,” said Lin.

Looking ahead, the team says the next step is to promote technological synergy, including AI, large science facilities, traditional techniques, and innovations. They note that young scientists must be cultivated, and global collaboration enhanced as part of this process. “The ultimate goal is to accelerate three deeps explorations in the big data and AI era, expand human understanding of the three deeps, and build a community for a brighter future for humankind,” said Lin.

The research team includes Jian Lin, Yiming Luo, and Zhiyuan Zhou from the Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China, and Fan Zhang from the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China.

The research is funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Guangdong Natural Science Foundation of China.