Explorers & Record Breakers
Famous ocean expeditions
For five centuries the sea has drawn the boldest explorers on Earth. From the first voyage around the globe to solo dives into the deepest trench, these are the journeys that mapped the blue planet.
First voyage around the world
Magellan & Elcano
Setting out with five ships, the expedition crossed the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans — the first to circle the globe — though Magellan did not survive the journey.
See the oceanThree great Pacific voyages
Captain James Cook
Cook charted New Zealand, eastern Australia and countless Pacific islands with astonishing accuracy, reshaping the map of the world’s largest ocean.
See the oceanThe Challenger expedition
HMS Challenger
A four-year voyage that sounded the deep, discovered thousands of new species and founded the whole science of oceanography.
See the oceanThe Aqua-Lung & Calypso
Jacques Cousteau
Cousteau co-invented the Aqua-Lung, letting people breathe and explore underwater freely — and brought the ocean into homes through his films.
Kon-Tiki raft crossing
Thor Heyerdahl
Heyerdahl drifted 8,000 km across the Pacific on a balsa-wood raft to show ancient peoples could have made such a voyage.
See the oceanFirst dive to the deepest point
Piccard & Walsh
Aboard the bathyscaphe Trieste, the pair descended nearly 11 km to the bottom of the Challenger Deep — and found fish still living there.
See the oceanSolo to the Challenger Deep
James Cameron
The film director piloted the Deepsea Challenger alone to the deepest point in the ocean — the first solo dive to the bottom of the world.
See the oceanFive Deeps Expedition
Victor Vescovo
The first person to dive to the deepest point of all five oceans, completing the deepest survey of the planet ever attempted.
See the ocean