490 



Tlie facts. — The plan was conceived in a meeting of geopliysicists re- 

 viewing proposals to NSF for research projects seeking sponsorship. 

 It was matured by a group on an ad hoc basis. Subsequently, the 

 group affiliated as a committee within the National Academy of 

 Sciences (NAS) ; it sought and obtained an NSF grant to_ conduct a 

 feasibility test of deep water drilling. The ultimate objective was to 

 reach the heavy rock mantle underlying the earth's crust. The mantle 

 is closest to the surface under the deep ocean so that drilling could best 

 be performed through the ocean floor. Initial tests proved successful. 

 The NAS group turned to studies of the next step, while NSF assumed 

 management of the project. The NAS Mohole staff witiidrew and 

 formed an indef)endent company. NSF chose Brown & Root, Inc., a 

 Texas firm with marine and construction experience, to manage the 

 Mohole project. The role of the original Mohole team at NAS dimi- 

 nished. Extension of a drilling capability to reach tlie earth's mantle 

 gradually become questioned as beyond the existing state of the art of 

 drilling hardware and materials. A contract was placed for construc- 

 tion of a large and costly drilling platform while deA^elopment of drill- 

 ing hardware continued. The NAS panel was reorganized; the new 

 chairman declared that an intermediate drilling system should pre- 

 cede attempts to reach the mantle. The Office of the President con- 

 tinued to support the program. A review committee convened by NSF 

 endorsed the plan to proceed directly to build the "ultimate" drilling 

 platfonn, with which to develop "intermediate" drilling hardware. 

 Estimated costs mounted steeply. Onset of hostilities in Vietnam began 

 to impact on domestic expenditures. Political complications arose. 

 Congressional support waned, especially in the House Committee on 

 Appropriations. Finally, with evidence of disagreement among scien- 

 tists as to the feasibility of the project and as to the scientific merit of 

 the expressed objective, the Congress terminated its funding and the 

 project was dropped. In the meantime, a consortium of universities and 

 research foundations, with NSF support, had begini a substantial pro- 

 gram to take core drillings from the ocean floors on a systematic basis 

 at moderate depths. 



Sources^ hinds of techmoal information for Congress. — -Information 

 to Congress about the project was accumulated gradually between 1959 

 and 1966. Early testimony, by geopliysicists, stressed feasibility and 

 underestimated technical difficulty and costs. Subsequent testimony by 

 NSF director and staff members represented the project as important, 

 rewarding, and feasible basic research, proceeding in good order. There 

 were many direct and indirect references, unconfirmed by evidence, to 

 a "race to the mantle" involving U.S. and IT.S.S.E. scientists. As op- 

 position in Congress grew, information supplied by NSF, the coiitrac- 

 tor, the President's Science Adviser, the President of NAS, and inter- 

 ested academicians became more detailed about the scientific merits of 

 the program. Particular emphasis was on the many disciplines that 

 would benefit from discoveries expected from Mohole. It had an im- 

 portant place in the Nation's science program and was being watched 

 by the rest of the scientific world. 



Decision. — In the summer of 1966, Congress withheld further fund- 

 ing of the project. 



