Two days ago, explorer and director James Cameron descended 35,756 feet in a submersible to the deepest part of the ocean…the Mariana Trench.

Voyage to the Mariana Trench!

For the last few months, James Cameron has been angling to reach Challenger Deep – the deepest part of the Mariana Trench. In the process, he has raced three other groups – Triton Submarine (who wants to commercialize the Mariana Trench trip at a whopping $250,000 per person), Virgin Oceanic (owned by Richard Branson), and DOER Marine. Two days ago,James Cameron piloted his submersible 35,756 feet to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Cameron stayed in the Mariana Trench for about three hours. He didn’t stay as long as expected (he was supposed to be in the Trench for up to six hours). He also suffered at least one equipment-related malfunction – the crashing of the sub’s hydraulic arm. But otherwise, his expedition was a smashing success.

Now, he’s back…with some of the first footage from the expedition. Check out the whole video of the Mariana Trench expedition at National Geographic.