'Titanic' director's journey to deepest point on the planet

James Cameron's Pacific dive is, perhaps, his most ambitious project yet Credit: Reuters

Titanic and Avatar director James Cameron is getting ready to dive 7 miles below the ocean's surface.

He is piloting a specially designed submarine to the deepest point on the planet known as the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean.

The real-life adventure will see Cameron collect research samples for marine biology and geology.

  • The lowest point of the Mariana Trench is known as "Challenger Deep"

  • It has been reached only once before in 1960

  • The exploration is a joint project by Cameron and the National Geographic Society

The project is being called 'Deepsea Challenge' and is designed to expand our understanding of unknown parts of Earth.