The Chikyu - means "Planet Earth" in Japanese. Its unique features bund IODP's capability to access new regions beneath the Earth's crust.

The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) contains the Center for Deep Earth Exploration (CDEX), which is responsible for the overall management of the riser drilling vessel Chikyu.

• CDEX contracts the vessel operations; provides services to support science activities including on-board staffing, data management for core samples and logging; implements engineering site surveys; and conducts engineering developments.
• The Center for Advanced Marine Core Research operated by Kochi University and CDEX, provides analytical equipment for core processing, curates IODP cores (including microbiological samples) and manages core sample and data distribution.

For facts about Chikyu, click here.

 Explore the Deep Earth with Chikyu (6.57 MB)