Competing Superpowers
The race was on. The two superpowers competed with one another, with the ultimate aim to be the country who had dug furthest into the Earth’s crust. The idea was to provide an earth science addition to the high-profile Space Race.
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In 1958, the US took the lead with Project Mohole. A team of engineers drilled through the bed of the Pacific Ocean, at a location near Guadalupe in Mexico, until they reached 600 feet deep. The mantle is easier to access this way, since it lies a lot closer to the sea floor. However, Project Mohole had to be abandoned eight years later since their funding was cut. They never reached the mantle.