The submersible had already sprung two leaks, and communication with the surface had already

been cut off.

But not until 32,000 feet deep did the two submersible pilots truly feel tear.

A thunder-clap noise sounded, and the submersible bucked and shuttered.

Pilots Jacques Picard and Don Walsh slammed into each other in a tiny cockpit.

Scarily, their plexiglass window, despite being 15 inches thick, had cracked.

The intense water pressure around them had crushed it.

Picard and Walsh froze.

They braced for the submersible to split in half, to implode for cold water to rush in

and implode them.

But somehow, the window held.

And when the duo checked their instruments, everything else seemed fine.

So they talked things over.

Should they retreat to the surface, or keep descending to their goal?

The mysterious, challenger deep, the deepest point on Earth's surface.

The reasons to retreat were obvious.

The pressure would only increase as they dropped.

And who knew how long the plexiglass would hold?

Then again, they were so close to the bottom.

And if something catastrophic was going to happen,

well, they were too deep to get help anyway.

Picard and Walsh agreed.

...