A Florida man was able to set records this weekend for the longest time spent living underwater. However, his journey isn’t over yet, as he plans to keep going.
Joseph Dituri, a professor at the University of South Florida, completed 74 days living underwater, breaking the previous record of 73 set by two other professors in 2014.
However, the professor isn’t done with his journey yet, as he shared on Twitter that he intends to make it to day 100 as he studies the effects it has on the human body.
“The curiosity for discovery has led me here,” he tweeted. “My goal from day 1 has been to inspire generations to come, interview scientists who study life undersea, and learn how the human body functions in extreme environments.”
To complete his journey, Dituri has been staying at Jules’ Undersea Lodge, located at the bottom of a 30-foot lagoon in Key Largo, Florida. Dituri says communicating in real life with people is among the things he misses most.
“I am definitely missing being physically with my family and friends. The effects of being available only through technology are complicated because even though I can communicate regularly, the lack of ability to reach out or see them with my eyes in person has an effect,” Dituri said.
Throughout his nearly 3 month stay, Dituri has been working on his studies, focussed on how the human body reacts to living under extreme pressure for long periods of time and teaching his biomedical engineering class online.
The science experiment has been named Project Neptune 100 and was organized by the Marine Resources Development Foundation.
The foundation shared that the project will help bring awareness to marine research and conservation efforts.
Dituri, a nearly 30-year Navy veteran, has hypothesized that his health will improve because of the increased pressure underwater.
To ensure that he is okay, USF says that a medical team conducts routine dives to run tests on the professor. Psychologists and psychiatrists are also documenting the mental impacts of living in an isolated and confined environment for long periods of time.
The Florida Keys News Bureau shared that the processor plans on resurfacing on June 9, but until then, he’ll be underwater.
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