On October 26, 1948, the first bathyscaphe, the FNRS-2, built by Swiss physicist Auguste Piccard, made its initial test dive off the coast of Cape Verde, reaching a depth of 25 meters. Although a subsequent unmanned test reached over 4,500 feet, the vessel was damaged, but the tests proved the viability of the bathyscaphe concept for deep-sea exploration.

The FNRS-2, a fusion of balloon and submarine technologies, embodied the spirit of scientific adventure and the quest to reach the deepest parts of the planet. Auguste Piccard's bathyscaphe, and his son Jacques's later record-breaking dives, captured the public imagination and inspired poets and writers who saw in these vessels a symbol of humanity's relentless curiosity and its desire to push beyond the known boundaries of the world.