

As of July 2022, twenty-seven people have descended to Challenger Deep. During the third Ring of Fire Expedition in the summer of 2022, the DSV Limiting Factor made an additional nine descents to the Challenger Deep.

Between 1 March and 13 April 2021, the DSV Limiting Factor's second Ring of Fire Expedition added five completed dives. The deep-sea submersible Fendouzhe (奋斗者, Striver) completed a crewed dive to the bottom of the Challenger Deep on 10 November 2020 with three scientists onboard whilst livestreaming the descent.

Between 6 June and 26 June 2020, the DSV Limiting Factor added six completed dives during the first Ring of Fire Expedition. Between 28 April and, the DSV Limiting Factor completed four crewed dives to the bottom of Challenger Deep. In March 2012, a solo descent was made by film director James Cameron in the deep-submergence vehicle Deepsea Challenger. The first descent by any vehicle was by Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh in the bathyscaphe Trieste in January 1960 unpiloted visits followed in 1996, 19. The high water pressure at this depth makes designing and operating exploratory craft difficult. The depression is named after the British Royal Navy survey ship HMS Challenger, whose expedition of 1872–1876 made the first recordings of its depth. This location is in the ocean territory of the Federated States of Micronesia. The Challenger Deep is located in the western Pacific Ocean, at the southern end of the Mariana Trench, near the Mariana Islands. The Challenger Deep is the deepest known point of the seabed of Earth, with a depth of 10,902–10,929 m (35,768–35,856 ft) by direct measurement from deep-diving submersibles, remotely operated underwater vehicles and benthic landers, and (sometimes) slightly more by sonar bathymetry. Location of Challenger Deep within the Mariana Trench and western Pacific Ocean
