Workers hoist an underwater science robot named Tansuo in preparation for its first experimental dive on Monday in the South China Sea. The task is expected to last about 20 hours. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Chinese-developed underwater robot Tansuo conducted its maiden test dive in the South China Sea on Monday.

The robot is 3.5 meters long and 1.5 meters wide and can dive to a depth of 4,500 meters. It will conduct 20 hours of collaborative operations with the unmanned submersible Faxian in the South China Sea.

The Chinese research vessel Kexue left the port of Xiamen, Fujian province, on Sunday to continue its South China Sea scientific expedition.

During the second stage of its mission, the unmanned submersible will carry a domestically developed Raman spectrometer to take physical and chemical measurements, and photograph organisms.

The Kexue left Qingdao, Shandong province, on July 10 for a scientific expedition. It docked in Xiamen to resupply on Friday after completing the first phase of the mission.

In the first stage, 12 Chinese-developed underwater gliders carried out scientific observations in the South China Sea, sending back real-time data. It was the largest group of gliders ever to perform simultaneous observations in the region.

Xinhua