While the Tennessee Reef Lighthouse has been sitting about 4 miles off Route 1 in Long Key, Florida since 1933, the iron structured hexagonal pyramid skeleton tower now has aquanauts living in the Vanguard Underwater Habitat 56 feet below the surface at it’s base.
Located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, it becomes the first open ocean subsea human habitat built, tested and deployed in the United States in 40 years.
The conservation area is a designated “Research Only” zone, public entry, diving and snorkeling are strictly prohibited. It’s closed to all to protect the ongoing restoration, long-term strategic monitoring plots of unique slow-growth corals and sponges and it’s clearly marked with yellow boundary buoys.
The steel structured/acrylic windowed underwater habitat enables up to 4 crew members to live and work underwater for days, enabling extended time on the ocean floor.
As you can imagine, everyone down there is excited about this adventure.
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