The Next Cousteau Is Building an Underwater Research Wonderland

Fabien Cousteau took a last look at the steel capsule that had been his home for 31 days as he ascended gently toward the warm surface of the Florida Bay waters. After a month living in a confined space, 63 feet deep in the ocean with no sunlight, he had just one thought in his mind: how to get back there, for longer.

“To have to go back to the surface was one of the saddest moments in my ocean exploration career,” Cousteau says. “I was more than happy to go another month, but unfortunately budgets don’t allow for that.”