Our Year 10 and Year 4 students have had the chance of a lifetime to talk to Fabien Cousteau as he nears the end of Mission 31 in the underwater marine laboratory “Aquarius” off the coast of Florida.

Here are some reflections from the biology students:

“The Skype call with Mission 31 was unlike anything we have ever done. It was fascinating to speak with someone who was underwater, halfway around the world. Fabien Cousteau was very cheerful and he seemed happy to answer all of our questions. He took us on a tour and showed us that the Aquarius lab is like an upside down cup with a bubble of air trapped at the top. This meant that the divers did not have to depressurise after each mission.”

Tom and Arnaud.

“On the 26 of June we had the unique opportunity to connect with Fabien Cousteau over Skype. He and his team are in the middle of a ground-breaking experiment to see the physical effects of living underwater for 31 days. They have been carrying out experiments to undercover the results of pollution, climate change and research predator prey behaviour. We were able to ask a number of questions which he responded with interesting and entertaining answers. It was a very exciting and intriguing experience and we are very lucky and grateful to have had the once in a life time opportunity.”

Annique and Sophia.

“We had the fantastic opportunity to talk with the renowned aquanaut, Fabien Cousteau as he and his team dived into a 31 day mission to explore the effects of pollution on sea life. For over twenty minutes he had us hooked, showing and naming all the colourful fish we could see through the windows, giving us a tour of the lab, talking about the effects of prolonged pressure on the body and some of the exiting experiments the marine biologists are conducting. We would like to thank him and our teachers for this experience.”

Isabel and Isolde.

“The answers that Cousteau provided for our questions were very interesting. He even showed us part of the lab and how they got out to dive. To be honest, though, I spent most of the time looking at the window! There were so many colourful fish passing by, including the striped fish we nicknamed the “fame fish” because it spent most of its time near the window, as if it wanted to be famous.”

Manuel.