Олексій Дзюба Історії 25 January 2025, 12:23

He had internet, solar panels, and an exercise bike. A German aerospace engineer lived in an underwater house for 120 days

Rudiger Koch set a world record.

59-year-old German aerospace engineer Rudiger Koch has set a world record for the longest time he has lived underwater without depressurization, the Guardian reports .

He spent 120 days in a 30-square-meter underwater capsule off the coast of Panama. The man broke the record of American Joseph Dituri, who spent 100 days in an underwater house in a Florida lagoon.

According to the German, it was a “wonderful adventure” and he enjoyed the time spent in the capsule at a depth of 11 meters underwater. “It’s beautiful when everything calms down, it gets dark, and the sea glows. It’s impossible to describe, you have to experience it yourself,” Koch said of the view through the portholes.

VIDEO: Inside the SeaPod Alpha Deep off the coast of Puerto Lindo in Panama, German aerospace engineer Rudiger Koch, 59, hopes to break a world record — for living underwater. pic.twitter.com/UG2mMY9oXr
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) January 25, 2025

Koch's capsule had a bed, toilet, TV, computer, Internet and exercise bike. It was located a 15-minute boat ride off the coast of northern Panama. The record holder's underwater home was connected to another above-water chamber by a pipe that provided food delivery. It was also a way for visitors, including a doctor.

Photo — Underwater capsule in which Rudiger Koch lived

Four cameras filmed his movements in the capsule: recording his daily life, monitoring his mental health and proving that he never went to the surface. The capsule had solar panels on the surface to provide it with electricity, and it also had a backup generator. However, the man did not have a shower.

"We are trying to prove that the seas are actually a viable environment for human expansion," said Rüdiger Koch.

To celebrate, Koch took a sip of champagne and smoked a cigar before jumping into the Caribbean Sea, where he was picked up by a boat and brought to land for a celebratory party.