Haixing 6000, one of China's underwater robots, collects soil and water samples during a research expedition, Oct. 23, 2018. Haixing 6000 set a national depth record for a Chinese remotely operated vehicle, by diving 6,001 meters below sea surface during its first research expedition, scientists told Xinhua Sunday. Haixing 6000 was developed by a team at the Shenyang Institute of Automation under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is the first remotely operated underwater vehicle built by China that is capable of diving 6,000 meters, said Li Zhigang, chief scientist of the team. It reached a maximum depth of 6,001 meters, and completed a series of underwater tasks in three hours, including deep-sea observation, biological research, soil and water sample collection, and a simulative black box search. (Xinhua)