On June 18, 2023, the contacts and signals sent by the Titan were lost even though it had been at sea for a few hours. After finding debris, investigators ended up saying that the submersible must have imploded.
Almost a year later, the reasons for this implosion remain quite mysterious. Scientists have looked at the structure of Titan and more specifically its walls. They questioned their imperfections and published an article in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Newsweek reports that, according to researchers, “The Titan’s integrity may have been compromised by damage to the material used for its hull, which accumulated over the many voyages it made before imploding.”
This object that resisted the implosion of the Titan: “It represents what killed my father”
The materials that made up the Titan’s hull contained, in particular, carbon fiber, which could deform under too much pressure. The researchers also claim that the construction of the hull possessed “inevitable imperfections” which must have gotten worse with the numerous voyages carried out by the submersible.
