Submersible Jiaolong completes 2nd deep-sea dive

Photo taken on June 17, 2013 shows China's manned deep-sea submersible Jiaolong in the South China Sea, south China. Jiaolong finished the first diving operation for its first voyage of experimental application in the South China Sea at about 4:30 p.m. (0830 GMT) on June 17. Jiaolong set a new dive record after reaching a depth of 7,062 meters in the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench in June 2012. (Xinhua/Zhang Xudong)

China's submersible Jiaolong has completed its second diving operation in the South China Sea with a scientist on board.

Zhou Huaiyang is a professor of deep-sea studies from the School of Ocean and Earth Science of Tongji University. He collected geological samples and deep-sea environmental data. Tuesday's dive also continued with tests on Jiaolong's positioning system.

In future dives, 13 other scientists from various fields will study the ocean depths from the Jiaolong.

The submersible completed its first deep-sea dive in the South China Sea on Monday afternoon, the start of a 113-day-long mission. The mission marks the start of a five-year trial period for the Jiaolong before it goes into regular operation.