China and Chile have begun a landmark deep-sea research mission to the Atacama Trench. The trench is the world’s longest undersea trench, stretching nearly 6,000 kilometres and plunging over 8,000 metres beneath the eastern Pacific Ocean.   China’s research vessel “Tan Suo Yi Hao” (Discovery One) set sail from Valparaiso this week. Onboard is the manned deep-sea submersible “Fendouzhe” (Striver), which previously reached a record depth of 10,909 metres in the Mariana Trench. Equipped with high-resolution cameras and advanced sampling tools, it will explore the trench’s extreme environment.   The expedition is a collaboration between the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering and Chile’s University of Concepcion. It will study biodiversity and chemosynthetic ecosystems in this rarely explored region.   “We hope that such cooperative experiences can be further expanded in more fields, and help Chile and China continue to carry out broader cooperation," said Tomas Rementeria, a Chilean senator.   Source: China Central Television