The Terrifying Reason We Stopped Exploring the Mariana Trench—and What's Still Hiding There

The Terrifying Reason We Stopped Exploring the Mariana Trench—and What's Still Hiding There The deepest place on Earth is not in space, not on another planet, and not hidden behind a telescope. It is seven miles beneath the Pacific, inside the Mariana Trench, where pressure can crush steel and rescue is impossible. We did not stop exploring it because it was empty. We stopped because every trip down reminded us of the same terrifying truth: the trench does not want visitors, and the few things we found there made it harder to stay away.