Fabien Cousteau’s 31-day undersea mission a success

Aquarius Base (Credit: NASA, via Wikimedia Commons)

Jacques Cousteau famously led an expedition during which aquanauts lived under the sea for 30 days. But his grandson, Fabien Cousteau, bested his record by one day, and actually lived in an underwater habitat himself, according to the Miami Herald.

Fabien lived in Aquarius Reef Base just off the Florida Keys with a team of oceanographers collecting data on the effects climate change is having on the world’s oceans. Scientists studied valuable ocean assets like corals, goliath groupers and prey species. But they also operated with a larger goal: to generate interest in the health of the world’s oceans.

To that end, researchers worked to produce a YouTube series of some 30 videos to promote the expedition. The crew also participated in Skype chats with students in 70 classrooms from Canada, England, Luxembourg and the U.S. in one week alone.

Image: Aquarius Base (Credit: NASA, via Wikimedia Commons)