NathanFor The Public
And as this milestone had been achieved, the researchers on the Kola Peninsula temporarily left their tools. So this meant that for about 12 months, they put a pause on their work on the borehole so that outside people could visit the intriguing site. Since man had never gone this far down, it really was a work worth visiting for people who have an interest in learning about the earth.
An Obstacle
This was supposed to be a brief pause, so they began with their work soon after. But then, as the experiment was restarted the next year, they found a technical problem. This issue was not something that they could just work over so, in the end, they had to be forced to put the drilling to an end. The team was prepared to go deeper but what could have been the reason that this project could not continue anymore?
Starting Again
The whole project seemed to have been shut down but the researchers did not want to abandon their hard work just that easily. Since the previous borehole they had dug went deep down, they knew they had to work it out somehow. So they started again from a depth of about 23,000 feet. In the year 1989, the hole had gone to a depth of a record-breaking 40,230 feet which is around 7.5 miles.
A Few Feet Deeper
The researchers were as determined as ever and this time they did not wish to be stopped by any obstacle that came their way. The people who took part in the project were optimistic about the future. They were hoping that the hole would pass 44,000 feet by late 1990. The hole that they managed to dig up has gone to such an impressive depth that the urge to go further was stronger than ever.
Reaching Targets
The borehole had been worked on for an extensive period of time now and slowly but surely, the team was meeting their objective. And there was yet an even more impressive incident that took place. There was a prediction that the borehole would get to reach the team’s target of 49,000 feet by as early as 1993. Everything was going as smoothly as planned and the workers were as happy as could be.
Unexpectedly
As we all know, the more things go smoothly, the more chances of problems arising. Even though the team was expected to reach their goals, something unexpected was present there underneath the remote Russian tundra. And quite surprisingly, as the drill got closer and closer to Earth’s center, an unexpected change took over their project. What ever could that be