Asia – Oscar winner James Cameron recently descended more than 35,000 feet below sea level in a history-making expedition to the “Challenger Deep”, the ocean’s deepest point located in the Mariana Trench. National Geographic Channel (NGC) will air footage of this record-setting voyage later this year.

With the help of a specially-designed submersible, Cameron captured still photographs and moving images to visually document the Mariana Trench. The result of more than seven years’ engineering effort, the submersible succeeded in staying on the bottom for about three hours as Cameron collected samples for research in marine biology, microbiology, astrobiology, marine geology and geophysics.

Dubbed Deepsea Challenge, the expedition will be chronicled for a 3D feature film for theatrical release on the intensive technological and scientific efforts behind this historic dive. It is also being documented for the National Geographic magazine.

Another Cameron documentary Titanic: The Final Word with James Cameron, is scheduled to air on NGC on April 8, in observance of the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic. In this two-hour premiere special, NGC and Cameron bring together some of the world’s leading Titanic experts to solve the lingering mysteries of why and how an “unsinkable” ship sank.