Daredevil French adventurer plans to live in a laboratory under the frozen Arctic Ocean

Imagine spending six months in an underwater lab buried 32 feet below the surface of the frozen Arctic Ocean.

Sounds terrifying?

Well, that’s exactly what French adventurer Alban Michon plans to do if he can fund €14 million (£12.2 million) in time for the project’s launch in 2025.

The 45-year-old hopes his Innovative Oceanographic and Spatial Research Base will enable scientists to better understand the impact of global warming on the region.

He also hopes to gain a new perspective on the ocean itself by following in the footsteps of his hero Jacques-Yves Cousteau, the late oceanographer.

In 1965 Cousteau created an underwater base at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat in France, where oceanographers lived for a month.

“Thanks to the evolution of new technologies, we are continuing the momentum of Commander Cousteau,” said Michon the times.

The Innovative Oceanographic and Spatial Research Base will measure 24 meters by 2.3 meters and offer panoramic views of the sea from the front.

Although the exact location has yet to be determined, the lab will be lowered 10 meters below the ocean surface before the ice begins to form in the fall.

‘After six months it starts to melt. What we want to do is spend almost an entire season under the sea, trapped under the ice,” Michon added.

He said it would allow scientists to experience an “environment a bit like a fetus in its mother’s womb.”

“We will be the first people to live in the heart of the Arctic Ocean,” he explained.

The six-month expedition called the Biodysseus mission will see Michon . involved and his team are testing advanced technologies while living on recycled air, water and energy.

‘Biodysseus’ mission is a world first. With my team we are going to live locked up under the Arctic Ocean for several months,” Michon writes on his website.

“Because the Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the world, I decided to go on an adventure and create the first Underwater Oceanographic & Spatial Research Base dedicated to science and technology.”

He added: ‘This foundation, whose carbon footprint will be reduced as much as possible, fulfills several objectives: transportable, modular, scalable and sustainable.

“Fixed at a depth of about 10 meters, at atmospheric pressure, this habitat will, as autonomously as possible, accommodate a crew of four bio-oceanauts for six months.”

Michon also believes that creating such an extreme environment could be beneficial for space agencies.

He said he would like it eventually to invite astronauts to use the base so they can better prepare for the harsh environment of space.

“This base will also make it possible to simulate extravehicular trips while diving to prepare for possible space missions,” the Frenchman added.

‘Our departure under the pack ice is planned for the end of 2025 for science and the world of tomorrow.’

The daredevil adventurer wants build a second base above ground so those in the underwater lab can connect to a support team 24/7, while also creating an underwater pod with a “meeting bubble” that acts as an intermediary.

He said this could then bring doctors to the lab in an emergency.

Journalists could also visit the base to interview the scientists.

Michon, a native of northeastern France, has so far raised about 10 percent of the project’s estimated cost through corporate donations.

If he manages to get the rest of the money together, the expedition is scheduled for 2025.

The adventurer started scuba diving at the age of 11 and has previously dived under the ice in the Arctic for 45 days.

For more information about the Biodysseus mission, click here.