--- title: PHOTOS: Jacques Cousteau's 1963 Conshelf II Mission description: In 1963, Jacques Cousteau led divers to live underwater in Conshelf II for a month to examine life as an "oceanaut." canonical: https://time.com/2954706/jacques-cousteau-conshelf-ii/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-08T18:18:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:08:09.618Z article:section: Science og:title: A Look Back at Jacques Cousteau's Conshelf II Expedition og:description: In 1963, Jacques Cousteau led divers to live underwater in Conshelf II for a month to examine life as an "oceanaut." og:url: https://time.com/2954706/jacques-cousteau-conshelf-ii/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02b9ef5623224f8a/69869a85d0b6f202c230525f/jacques-cousteau-conshelf-06.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: The Cousteaus and their crew relax in a submersible after work during the Conshelf II Expedition. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Look Back at Jacques Cousteau's Conshelf II Expedition twitter:description: In 1963, Jacques Cousteau led divers to live underwater in Conshelf II for a month to examine life as an "oceanaut." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02b9ef5623224f8a/69869a85d0b6f202c230525f/jacques-cousteau-conshelf-06.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Look Inside Jacques Cousteau's Conshelf II Expedition by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Jul 8, 2014 6:18 PM UTC  The Cousteaus and their crew relax in a submersible after work during the Conshelf II Expedition. The Cousteaus and their crew relax in a submersible after work during the Conshelf II Expedition.Robert B. Goodman—National Geographic/Getty Images by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Jul 8, 2014 6:18 PM UTC  A dome houses Jacques Cousteau's diving saucer in 1963. Robert B. Goodman—National Geographic/Getty Images  Jacques Cousteau discusses the Conshelf II Expedition with his crew. National Geographic Creative  Jacques Cousteau on the deck of a boat talking with two men with diving gear on during the Conshelf II Expedition. Robert B. Goodman—National Geographic Creative  Captain Jacques Cousteau explores the water surrounding the Conshelf II submersible. Robert B. Goodman—National Geographic Creative  A diver films the Conshelf II submersible on the floor of the Red Sea in 1963. Robert B. Goodman—National Geographic Creative  The Cousteaus and their crew relax in a submersible after work during the Conshelf II Expedition. Robert B. Goodman—National Geographic/Getty Images  Jacques Cousteau works at an audio-visual machine during the Conshelf II Expedition. Robert B. Goodman—National Geographic Creative ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2954706/jacques-cousteau-conshelf-ii/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2954706/jacques-cousteau-conshelf-ii/"},"headline":"A Look Inside Jacques Cousteau's Conshelf II Expedition","datePublished":"2014-07-08T18:18:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:08:09.618Z","description":"In 1963, Jacques Cousteau led divers to live underwater in Conshelf II for a month to examine life as an \"oceanaut.\" Here's a look at what life was like at the bottom of the ocean.","url":"https://time.com/2954706/jacques-cousteau-conshelf-ii/","keywords":["Science topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02b9ef5623224f8a/69869a85d0b6f202c230525f/jacques-cousteau-conshelf-06.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02b9ef5623224f8a/69869a85d0b6f202c230525f/jacques-cousteau-conshelf-06.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Cousteaus and their crew relax in a submersible after work during the Conshelf II Expedition.","caption":"The Cousteaus and their crew relax in a submersible after work during the Conshelf II Expedition.","creditText":"Robert B. 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