UK’s 1st ever underwater ‘CITY’ unveiled with Mars-grade tech & tiny homes so far under sea residents speak in ‘squeaks’
UK’s 1st ever underwater ‘CITY’ unveiled with Mars-grade tech & tiny homes so far under sea residents speak in ‘squeaks’
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THE UK's first ever underwater "city" has been unveiled with Mars-grade tech and tiny homes deep under the sea. The underwater habitat dubbed Sentinel, is designed to house people at depths of 650ft for up to 28 days at a time. Ocean tech company Deep said they are hoping to make "a permanent human presence under the oceans" possible as soon as 2027.
![[Illustration of an underwater habitat at night.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/deep-sentinel-005.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Deep have put in motion their incredible plans at a quarry in Chepstow, Wales, which was a former scuba diving site. They have already built a 60-metre long steel underwater habitat of a prototype shell which will become a Sentinel Simulator. DEEPS President Sean Wolpert told ITV News: "What we’re trying to do is reconnect humanity with the sea.
![[Illustration of the interior of a futuristic underwater habitat.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/deep-sentinel-001.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
"This is the alien world that we need to have a better understanding of. "More than half of the oxygen that we breathe comes from the ocean. To protect it we need to love it. To love it we need to understand it.”. At the moment, deep dives at the site are restricted to just minutes at the bottom, followed by days of decompressing to avoid the bends.
![[Illustration of an underwater hotel room with a large porthole showing ocean life.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/deep-sentinel-004.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Living in a capsule where the air pressure matches the water pressure outside, divers can be lowered directly into the water via a moonpool and stay out for hours. It means that the crew have to breathe an oxygen and helium mix, which has exactly the effect on their voices you’d expect.
![[Two workers inspecting a large wooden structure under construction.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/underwater-3.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Sentinel's creators say it will let people reach the lower limit of the Epipelagic zone – the "deepest point" that sunlight reaches into the ocean. This is an extreme depth that can't be reached by humans without expensive and specialised equipment, say Deep.
![[Screenshot]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/deep-sentinel-008.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
