Ichthyander Project
Soviet underwater habitat project of the 1960s From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ichthyander Project was the first project involving underwater habitats in the Soviet Union in 1960s.[1][2][3][4][5]
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Inspired by information on experiments on underwater habitats abroad (in particular, by Jacques Cousteau's Conshelf), the members of the amateur diving club "Ichthyander"[6] in Donetsk embarked on the project of their own at a site by Tarkhankut Cape, Crimea.[1]
The name is taken from the name of the protagonist of the Soviet film Amphibian Man.
In August 1966, in the first experiment, purely amateur, Ichthyander-66, a person spent three days continuously underwater. After newspaper news, the experiment attracted attention of authorities and scientist, and during Ichthyander-67 the habitat operated for two weeks. After Ichtyander-68 Ichtyander-70, after unsuccessful attempts to elevate it to a professional level, with state support, the project was discontinued.[3] A 1968 Soviet popular science book Homo Aquaticus writes: "It so happened that after the 1967 expedition, an order was issued to dissolve the club". Ichthyander-68 was carried out during a short-lived attempt the members of the club to attach themselves to the Mining Science-Technical Society (Горное научно-техническое общество) to start research in underwater geodesy and drilling.[7]
A memorial marker exists (a stone with a plaque and steel slabs) at the site.[1]
This project preceded and catalyzed several other early Soviet experiments with underwater habitats, such as Sadko (autumn 1966), Chernomor and Sprut.[2][3]
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