These humans can't believe 70% of Earth is still a mystery so are preparing to live and work on the ocean floor
Published on Jan 20, 2026 at 4:42 AM (UTC+4)
by Daisy Edwards
Last updated on Jan 19, 2026 at 8:43 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
Believe it or not, the ocean covers nearly three-fourths of planet Earth, and we know almost nothing about it – so these people are moving to the ocean floor to change that.
It sounds like science fiction, but it is already happening thanks to a company called DEEP Engineered.
Instead of sending people into space, they are building habitats designed for long-term human life underwater.
And according to DEEP, living beneath the waves could one day feel just as normal as living on land.
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Living and working on the ocean floor
DEEP Engineered’s mission for the future is simple but bold.
“Our mission is to make humans aquatic, not by modifying their physiology but by engineering systems to enable that to happen,” Phil Short, a Research Diving and Training Lead from DEEP, explained to us in an interview.
In other words, humans stay human, but technology does the heavy lifting.
The idea is to place habitats directly on the seabed so people can live and work underwater, almost like submarines that are parked on the seabed for extended periods of time.
“If you put a habitat on the seabed, it’s like putting a base camp on the jungle floor,” Short said. Instead of short dives with long recovery times, crews can stay submerged for weeks and work around the clock.
This opens the door to underwater jobs that go far beyond short research dives.
Scientists, engineers, and explorers could treat the ocean floor as a workplace rather than somewhere you head for a brief visit. Short even suggested a future where this lifestyle is not limited to marine professionals.
“From a physiological and engineering point of view, it’s completely feasible,” he said when asked if families could one day live underwater, he said: “There’s no reason why not.”
I’ve been to the year 3000…
The habitat leading this vision is called Vanguard, and it already exists.
“It’s physically built,” Short said, adding that it is the first subsea habitat ever to be independently certified as safe for humans.
“We’re not marking our own homework,” he explained, noting that external bodies test it to prove it is fit for long-term living.
Life underwater also unlocks huge discovery potential.
The areas DEEP is targeting sit between shallow diving depths and the extreme deep sea.
“Scientists exploring these depths are finding new species on every single dive,” Short said. “It’s not science fiction. It’s a basic fact.”
While humans have dreamed about underwater cities for decades, DEEP believes the difference now is technology.
“Engineering has evolved to a level we couldn’t even have dreamed of 60 years ago,” Short said, and it seems that which once belonged in retro sci-fi novels may soon feel surprisingly normal.
Whether you’re more of a Busted or Jonas Brothers fan, it seems that living underwater might be the norm long before the year 3000.
Living underwater might not replace life on land, but DEEP Engineered is betting it will become part of it.
And if that happens, calling our water-covered planet ‘Earth’ will make even less sense.
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As a Content Writer since January 2025, Daisy’s focus is on writing stories on topics spanning the entirety of the website. As well as writing about EVs, the history of cars, tech, and celebrities, Daisy is always the first to pitch the seed of an idea to the audience editor team, who collab with her to transform it into a fully informative and engaging story.
