Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk’s child-sized rescue submarine is headed for Thailand to aid authorities in their effort to save members of a children’s soccer team stuck in a cave.
Musk shared photos and videos on Twitter Monday of the rescue pod, including footage of engineers testing the device in a pool in Los Angeles. Engineers can be seen navigating the submarine through simulated passageways.
“Mini-sub arriving in about 17 hours,” Musk tweeted Sunday night. “Hopefully useful. If not, perhaps it will be in a future situation.” He might be entering the fray too late, as eight of the 12-member soccer team have already been rescued.
Simulating maneuvering through a narrow passage pic.twitter.com/2z01Ut3vxJ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 9, 2018
Five people, including the team’s coach, remain in the Tham Luang cave complex, which flooded June 23 while the team was exploring the cave’s tunnels and tributaries. Musk’s device was constructed out of parts from a SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. (RELATED: Eighth Boy Rescued From Flooded Cave In Thailand, Witness Says)
The sub’s aluminum shell weighs 90 pounds and has four ports on the front and rear, Musk said in the tweet Monday, adding that the pod “could also work as an escape pod in space.”
Thai Navy SEALS are conducting the rescue operation. The rescue mission receiving international attention and support to retrieve 12 boys and their soccer coach began Sunday, using a team of 90 divers — 40 from Thailand and 50 from overseas.
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