We have better maps of Mars than of our own sea floor. The deep ocean is the largest habitat on Earth and the least explored, a world of crushing pressure, permanent darkness, and animals that make their own light. We look at what lives down there, how it survives, and why the deep sea matters to everyone living on the surface.

You'll come away understanding why pressure is the real barrier, how ecosystems thrive with no sunlight at all, and what deep-sea mining would actually be disturbing.

Talking Science is sponsored by Kinsoft. Visit www.kinsoft.com.au

Further reading: NOAA Ocean Exploration; Schmidt Ocean Institute; CSIRO marine research.