In July 1964, the U.S. Navy deployed SEALAB I, an experimental underwater habitat off the coast of Bermuda. Four divers lived in the habitat at a depth of 193 feet (58.8 meters) for 11 days, successfully demonstrating the viability of saturation diving in the open ocean and paving the way for future underwater living and working operations.

SEALAB I, a bold experiment in human endurance and engineering, captured the public imagination and contributed to the utopian vision of an underwater future. The project, and its later iterations, inspired a generation of writers and poets who explored the psychological and physical challenges of living in the deep, from the scientific romances of the 1960s to the introspective poetry of aquanauts and marine scientists.