View source for Project Mohole

{{short description|Attempt to drill through Earth's crust}}
{{redirect|Mohole|text=Moholes also feature in the [[Mars trilogy]] as fictional terraforming devices}}
{{for|the Russian land-based drilling operation|Kola Superdeep Borehole}}
{{use mdy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox historical event
  |Event_Name     = Project Mohole – Phase 1 Test
  |Image_Name     = Mohopix-1.gif
  |Imagesize      = 250
  |Image_Alt      =
  |Image_Caption  = ''CUSS I''
  |Thumb_Time     =
  |AKA            =
  |Participants   = [[Willard Bascom]], [[Walter Munk]], [[Roger Revelle]], [[John Steinbeck]], {{ill|William Riedel|qid=Q21339655|s=1|v=sup}}<ref name="Riedel">{{cite news |url=https://library.ucsd.edu/scilib/biogr/Riedel_Biogr.pdf|title=William Rex Riedel Biography|publisher=Scripps Institution of Oceanography|access-date=15 Feb 2025}}</ref>
  |Location       = Off [[Guadalupe Island]], [[Mexico]], [[Pacific Ocean]]
  |Date           = March–April 1961
  |nongregorian   =
  |Deaths         =
  |Result         = First successful test of deep-ocean drilling techniques.
  |URL            =
}}

'''Project Mohole''' was an attempt in the early 1960s to drill through the Earth's [[Crust (geology)|crust]] to obtain samples of the [[Mohorovičić discontinuity]], or Moho, the boundary between the [[Earth]]'s [[Crust (geology)|crust]] and [[Mantle (geology)|mantle]].<ref name="mohole">{{cite news |url=http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/history/archives/milestones-in-NAS-history/project-mohole.html |title=Project Mohole, 1958–1966 | author=The National Academy of Sciences |access-date=June 26, 2019}}</ref> The project was intended to provide an [[earth science]] complement to the high-profile [[Space Race]]. While such a project was not feasible on land, drilling in the open ocean was more feasible, because the mantle lies much closer to the [[sea floor]].<ref name="70yrs">{{cite book|publisher=Springer-Verlag|location=Berlin|title=Seventy Years of Exploration in Oceanography: A Prolonged Weekend Discussion with Walter Munk|date=2010|first=Hans|last=von Storch|author2=Klaus Hasselmann|isbn=978-3-642-12086-2|doi=10.1007/978-3-642-12087-9}}</ref>

Led by a group of scientists called the [[American Miscellaneous Society]] with funding from the [[National Science Foundation]],<ref name="70yrs"/> the project suffered from political and scientific opposition, mismanagement, and [[cost overrun]]s. The [[U.S. House of Representatives]] defunded it in 1966.<ref name="E.Shor">[http://scilib.ucsd.edu/sio/hist/shor-mohole-chron.pdf Mohole, LOCO, CORE, and JOIDES:  A brief chronology] Betty Shor, The Scripps Institution of Oceanography, August 1978, 7 pp.  Retrieved June 25, 2019.</ref><ref name="nomohole">{{cite news|url=http://americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1993/1/1993_1_54.shtml|title=Why Mohole was no hole|first=Daniel|last=Sweeney|work=Invention and Technology Magazine – American Heritage|date=1993|pages=55–63|volume=9|access-date=August 14, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201150256/http://americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1993/1/1993_1_54.shtml|archive-date=December 1, 2008}}</ref> By then a program of sediment drilling had branched from Project Mohole to become the [[Deep Sea Drilling Project]] of the [[National Science Foundation]].<ref name="Winterer">{{Cite book |first1=Edward L. |last1=Winterer |date= 2000 |chapter=Scientific Ocean Drilling, from AMSOC to COMPOST |title=50 Years of Ocean Discovery: National Science Foundation 1950–2000|location=Washington, D.C.|chapter-url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK208831/ |publisher=National Academies Press (US) }}</ref>

== Background ==
[[File:Subduction-en.svg|thumb|250px| The Mohorovičić discontinuity, or Moho, lies between bottom of Earth's crust and the solid uppermost mantle.  The Moho, denoted here by the green line, is closer to the surface under the oceans than under the continents.]]
During discussions at the end of a panel reviewing proposals for Earth Sciences at the National Science Foundation in March 1957, [[Walter Munk]], a professor of geophysics and oceanography at the [[Scripps Institution of Oceanography]], suggested the idea behind the Mohole Project: to drill into the [[Mohorovicic Discontinuity]] and obtain a sample of the Earth's [[mantle (geology)|mantle]].<ref name="E.Shor" /><ref name="70yrs"/> The suggestion, in response to the set of fine, but modest proposals they had just reviewed, was made as a bold new idea and without regard to cost.<ref name="70yrs"/><ref name="G.Lill">[http://scilib.ucsd.edu/sio/oral/Lill.pdf Interview with Dr. Gordon Lill] Van Keuren, David K., History Office, Naval Research Laboratory, March 20, 1995, 44 pp.  Retrieved June 25, 2019.</ref> [[Harry Hammond Hess|Harry Hess]], a professor of geology at [[Princeton University]], was receptive to the idea.

Hess was one of the principal proponents of [[sea-floor spreading]]<ref name="history_basins">{{Cite book |first=H. H. |last=Hess |chapter-url=http://www.mantleplumes.org/WebDocuments/Hess1962.pdf |chapter=History of Ocean Basins |date=November 1962 |title=Petrologic studies: a volume to honor A. F. Buddington |editor=A. E. J. Engel |editor2=Harold L. James |editor3=B. F. Leonard |place=Boulder, CO |publisher=Geological Society of America |pages=599–620 }}</ref> or [[plate tectonics]] at the time,<ref>{{Cite journal |first=J. Tuzo |last=Wilson |date= December 1968 |title=A Revolution in Earth Science |journal=Geotimes |volume=13 |issue=10 |pages=10–16 |place=Washington DC}}</ref> and he saw the Mohole Project as a means to test this theory.<ref>{{Cite journal |first1=H.H. |last1=Hess |first2=H.S. |last2=Ladd |date= April 22, 1966 |title=Mohole: Preliminary drilling |journal=Science |volume=152 |issue=3721 |pages=544–545|doi=10.1126/science.152.3721.544 |pmid=17815084 |bibcode=1966Sci...152..544H |doi-access=free }}</ref> The project was to exploit the fact that the mantle was much closer to the ocean's floor (5–10&nbsp;km) than to the surface of land over continents (ca. 30&nbsp;km), suggesting that drilling to the mantle from the ocean would be more feasible.<ref name="70yrs"/>

[[File:Gordon Lill.jpg|thumb|175px|Dr. Gordon Lill, Deputy Director of the National Ocean Survey, and head of the American Miscellaneous Society, the founding group of the Deep Sea Drilling Project]]
The idea for the project was initially developed by the informal group of scientists known as the [[American Miscellaneous Society]] (AMSOC), including Hess, Munk, Gordon Lill, [[Roger Revelle]], Harry Ladd, Joshua Tracey, William Rubey, [[Maurice Ewing]], and Arthur Maxwell.<ref name="E.Shor"/><ref name="70yrs"/> Lill, who headed the Geophysics Branch of the [[Office of Naval Research]], had formed this whimsically-named society to assist in processing a disparate variety of proposals (of a miscellaneous nature) for funds in the earth sciences.<ref name="G.Lill"/> Hess had approached Lill with the Mohole idea, and they eventually decided that AMSOC should submit a proposal to the National Science Foundation to develop the project. The name of this organization was often viewed as a joke, however, and it would later prove troublesome to the project's success.<ref name="G.Lill"/>

The initial proposal to NSF was rejected because of the informal nature of the originating organization, and it had to be resubmitted as a proposal from the [[National Academy of Sciences]] (NAS);<ref name="G.Lill"/><ref name="E.Shor"/> several members of AMSOC were also members of NAS. The proposal resulted in a $15,000 grant in June 1958 for a feasibility study of Mohole, and [[Willard Bascom|Willard N. Bascom]], an ocean engineer, oceanographer, and geologist,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Oliver |first1=Myrna |title=Willard Bascom; Pioneer Oceanographer, Explorer, Controversial Researcher |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-oct-14-me-36525-story.html |access-date=26 June 2019 |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=14 October 2000}}</ref> became the Executive Secretary of AMSOC.<ref name="E.Shor"/>

On October 4, 1957 the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|Soviet Union]] launched the [[Sputnik 1]] satellite that initiated the [[Space Race]] and a revolution in science and education in the United States.<ref name="legacy">[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/opinion/04thur3.html The Legacy of Sputnik] [Editorial]. (2007). ''The New York Times'', p. 28.</ref> The ever-present competition with the Russians provided a positive political background to the Mohole Project, particularly after rumors that the Russians were attempting a similar drilling program.<ref name="G.Lill"/><ref name="nomohole"/>  Other aspects favorable to Mohole were that it was the first big science project in [[Earth Sciences]]<ref name="G.Lill"/> and that it was a new idea distinct from the many space programs that were underway as a result of the [[Sputnik crisis]]; the [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration]] (NASA) was established in 1958.<ref name="70yrs"/><ref name="Erickson">{{Cite book|title=Into the Unknown Together – The DOD, NASA, and Early Spaceflight |last=Erickson |first=Mark |isbn=1-58566-140-6 |url=http://aupress.au.af.mil/Books/Erickson/erickson.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090920093817/http://aupress.au.af.mil/Books/Erickson/erickson.pdf |archive-date=September 20, 2009 |year=2005 |publisher=Air University Press }}</ref>

With the new funding, AMSOC formed three panels in 1958: the Drilling Panel, the Site Selection Panel, and the Scientific Objectives and Measurements Panel, and in April 1959 Bascom became the Technical Director for the Mohole Project.<ref name="E.Shor"/> The AMSOC Committee, within the National Academy of Sciences, became both advisor and manager for the project.<ref name="E.Shor"/> By mid-1959, the NAS Governing Board had given AMSOC authorization to proceed with preliminary studies and Phase 1 of Mohole with a budget of up to $2.5M.<ref name="E.Shor"/> Project Mohole was to proceed in three phases: Phase 1, an experimental drilling program; Phase 2, an intermediate vessel and drilling program; and Phase 3, drilling to the Moho.<ref name="mohole"/>

== Phase 1 ==
[[File:Mohopix-3.gif|thumb|300px|One of the six submerged buoys used for dynamic positioning in Project Mohole. They were lowered to about {{cvt|200|ft|-1||}} into a circular pattern. The ''CUSS I'' would then use sonar to maneuver itself in the center of that circle.]]

Phase 1 was executed in early 1961, with innovative ocean engineering culminating in test bore holes.<ref name="E.Shor"/> Led by Bascom, Project Mohole contracted with Global Marine of Los Angeles for the use of its oil drill ship ''CUSS I''. The name of the drill ship was derived from the consortium of oil companies that had developed it in 1956, [[Continental Oil Company|Continental]], [[Union Oil Company|Union]], [[Superior Oil Company|Superior]] and [[Shell Oil Company|Shell]] Oil. The ship was to be a technological test bed for the nascent [[offshore oil industry]]. ''CUSS I'' was one of the first vessels in the world capable of drilling in deep water, though it had been limited to depths of 100&nbsp;m or a few hundred feet. Project Mohole expanded its operational depth by inventing what is now known as [[dynamic positioning]].<ref name="Van Keuren">{{cite book|last=Van Keuren|first=David K.|title=[[The Machine in Neptune's Garden: Historical Perspectives on Technology and the Marine Environment]]|chapter-url={{GBurl|id=fj0sCBGo1DEC|q=Global+Marine+of+Los+Angeles+CUSS+I|p=191}}|access-date=1 March 2014|publisher=Science History Publications|date=2004|isbn=0-88135-372-8|pages=183–210|chapter=Chapter 6: Breaking New Ground-The Origins of Scientific Ocean Drilling}}</ref> By mounting four large outboard motors on the ship, positioning the ship within surrounding moorings using acoustic techniques, and guiding the motors by a central joy stick, CUSS I could maintain a position within a radius of {{convert|600|ft|m|abbr=in|order=flip}}. Such unprecedented position keeping enabled the drilling to occur in deep water.<ref name="G.Shor">Van Keuren, David K., [http://scilib.ucsd.edu/sio/oral/Shor1995.pdf An Interview with Dr. George and Betty Shor] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620071041/http://scilib.ucsd.edu/sio/oral/Shor1995.pdf |date=June 20, 2013 }}, History Office, Naval Research Laboratory, March 16, 1995, 55 pp. Retrieved June 26, 2019.</ref>

With William Riedel as chief scientist, initial test drillings into the sea floor occurred off [[Guadalupe Island]], Mexico in March and April 1961.<ref name="Life Mohole">{{cite news|url={{GBurl|id=9lEEAAAAMBAJ|p=110}}|title=High drama of bold thrust through the ocean floor: Earth's second layer is tapped in prelude to MOHOLE|first=John|last=Steinbeck|work=Life Magazine|date=April 14, 1961|access-date=September 11, 2010}}</ref> The event was documented by [[John Steinbeck]] for an article in ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazine.<ref name="Life Mohole"/> The location was determined based on world-wide seismic refraction studies by [[George G. Shor]] and others, and its proximity to [[San Diego]], where CUSS I was located.<ref name="E.Shor"/> A recent such study by Shor near Guadalupe Island had shown that the sea floor of the area had interesting layering features, suggesting the drilling could confirm properties derived from the seismic studies. The layers were of geologic interest in their own right.<ref name="G.Shor"/>

Five holes were drilled, the deepest to {{convert|601|ft|abbr=in|order=flip}} below the sea floor in {{convert|11700|ft|abbr=in|order=flip}} of water. This drilling was unprecedented: not because of the hole's depth, but because an untethered platform in deep water was able to drill into the sea floor.<ref name="G.Shor"/> Also, the [[core sample]]s proved to be valuable, penetrating through [[Miocene]]-age sediments for the first time with the lowest {{convert|44|ft|||abbr=in|order=flip}} consisting of [[basalt]]. This lowest layer, of volcanic origin, confirmed the properties derived by the seismic studies.<ref name="G.Shor"/> This test drilling program was seen by all as a great success, attracting the attention of both the scientific community and the oil industry.<ref name="G.Shor"/><ref name="70yrs"/>  The test was completed in a timely manner and under budget, costing $1.7M.<ref name="70yrs"/>

Bascom reviewed the geologic science behind the Mohole Project, the required drilling engineering, and the Cuss I test drills in his book ''A Hole in the Bottom of the Sea'', published in 1961.<ref name="Bascom">{{cite book|publisher= Doubleday & Company, Inc.|location=Garden City, New York|title=A Hole in the Bottom of the Sea: The Story of the Mohole Project|url= https://archive.org/details/holeinbottomofse0000basc|url-access= registration|date=1961|first=Willard|last=Bascom|isbn=0-385-00711-6}}</ref>

Robert Ballard, in a talk at Wayne State University in 1969, stated that as far as he was concerned, the goal of the project was never to drill down to the Moho.  It was to develop the technology to drill holes in deep water with a rig that was not tethered to the bottom.

== Controversy ==
As Munk commented in 2010, the success of Phase 1 of Mohole doomed the project.<ref name="70yrs"/> The many factors that proved fatal to Mohole included the human element, differing views of the engineering and scientific goals, political improprieties at the governmental level, complexities of managing such a large project, and escalating costs.<ref name="Greenberg 1">{{Cite journal |first1=D. S. |last1=Greenberg |date= January 10, 1964 |title=Mohole: The project that went awry (I) |journal=Science |volume=143 |issue=3602 |pages=115–119| doi=10.1126/science.143.3602.115|pmid=17781190 |bibcode=1964Sci...143..115G }}</ref> D. S. Greenberg, a reporter for the journal [[Science (journal)|Science]] commented in 1964, "There is a lengthy and unattractive trail of bickering, bitterness, and shortsightedness, involving some of the leading figures of American science and science administration."<ref name="Greenberg 1"/> The drilling that was to occur in the second phase of the project never took place.

=== Scientific goals ===
Scientists involved with Mohole had differing and irreconcilable views as to the scientific goals of Mohole. Part of this disagreement resulted from a long tradition of competition among the four main oceanographic institutions: [[Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory|Lamont Geological Observatory]] in [[New York (state)|New York]], the [[Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution]] in [[Massachusetts]], the [[University of Miami]] in Florida, and the [[Scripps Institution of Oceanography]] in California.<ref name="G.Shor"/> The competitive nature of these institutions meant that they often refused to cooperate. The East Coast institutions favored a drilling site in the [[Atlantic Ocean]] or [[Caribbean]], while Scripps in [[San Diego]] favored a [[North Pacific]] site.<ref name="G.Shor"/> Any site had to be near a large port to make the logistics of the large expedition feasible, it had to have a Moho as shallow as possible, it could not be in a geologically active region, and it had to have stable weather conditions.<ref name="G.Shor"/> In January 1965 a site north of [[Maui, Hawaii]], was selected.<ref name="E.Shor"/>

A critical dispute was whether Mohole should begin at a modest, conservative pace with a program of drilling shallow bore holes in sediments, or whether it should proceed at once to drill the deep hole to the Moho.<ref name="Winterer"/> The issue was critical since the two approaches required differing engineering, management, and allocation of resources. There was significant interest in a program of shallower holes from those in the [[oceanography|oceanographic community]] and the [[oil industry]]. The deeper hole addressed more fundamental questions about the structure of the Earth. Some viewed the more modest initial approach as developing essential engineering and drilling techniques that would later be required for the deep bore hole.<ref name="G.Shor"/>

Some in the [[geology]] and [[geophysics]] communities objected to Mohole because, for its enormous cost, they expected that not much would be learned from drilling. They viewed the project as an engineering stunt of little scientific value.<ref name="G.Lill"/>

=== Management ===
During the CUSS I test and shortly thereafter, the Mohole project was managed by the National Academy of Sciences, with AMSOC acting as an advisor. The informal AMSOC group was insufficient to manage what was expected to be a large project in its next phase, and the [[National Science Foundation]] (NSF) took over management of the project in late 1961.<ref name="Greenberg 2">{{Cite journal |first1=D. S. |last1=Greenberg |date= January 17, 1964 |title=Mohole: The project that went awry (II) |journal=Science |volume=143 |issue=3603 |pages=223–227| doi=10.1126/science.143.3603.223|pmid=17753144 |bibcode=1964Sci...143..223G }}</ref><ref name="Greenberg 3">{{Cite journal |first1=D. S. |last1=Greenberg |date= January 24, 1964 |title=Mohole: The project that went awry (III) |journal=Science |volume=143 |issue=3604 |pages=334–337| doi=10.1126/science.143.3604.334|pmid=17821048 |bibcode=1964Sci...143..334G }}</ref> AMSOC was retained as an advisor to NSF. During late 1961 and early 1962, NSF sought bids from universities and private industry for a prime contractor for Mohole.

[[Hollis Hedberg]], a [[geologist]] from [[Gulf Oil Corporation]] and professor of geology at [[Princeton University]], chaired the AMSOC Mohole committee from December 1961 to November 1963.<ref name=Holl>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/hedberg-hollis.pdf|title= Biographical Memoir: Hollis Dow Hedberg (1903–1988)|first=Georges|last=Pardo|access-date=9 June 2013|publisher=[[National Academy of Sciences]]|pages=1–32|date=1992}}</ref> Hedberg had significant experience in drilling in the oil fields of Venezuela in the 1940s.<ref name="Hedberg">{{Cite journal|author=Hedberg, H. D.|author2= Sass, L. C.| author3= Funkhouser, H. J.|date=1947|title=Oil Fields of Greater Oficina Area Central Anzoategui, Venezuela|journal=[[American Association of Petroleum Geologists|AAPG Bulletin]] |volume=31 |pages=2089–2169 |issue=12 |url=http://archives.datapages.com/data/bulletns/1944-48/data/pg/0031/0012/2050/2089.htm |doi=10.1306/3D933A94-16B1-11D7-8645000102C1865D|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Hedberg strongly advocated an initial program for drilling shallower holes, and a second program for drilling to the Moho.

Since many members of AMSOC worked for universities or industries developing bids for Mohole, many of the scientists on AMSOC resigned to avoid [[conflicts of interest]]. Bascom and his associates formed a corporation, Ocean Science and Engineering, Inc., expecting that they would continue the work demonstrated in the CUSS I test. Gordon Lill resigned from AMSOC, since his employer was [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]] and was vying to become the prime contractor. Roger Revelle similarly resigned.

NSF declined a bid from Scripps as prime contractor, leaving it with bids from Socony Mobil Oil Co., Global-Aerojet-Shell, Brown and Root, Zapata Off-shore Co, and General Electric Co.<ref name="Greenberg 2"/> A review panel at NSF rated the Socony Mobil bid the best, calling it "in a class by itself",<ref name="Greenberg 2"/><ref name="Affairs">{{Cite journal |first1=Walter H. |last1=Munk |date= 1980 |title=Affairs of the sea (revised) |url=http://scilib.ucsd.edu/sio/biogr/Munk_Affairs_of_Sea.pdf |journal=Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences |volume=8 |pages=3–30 | doi=10.1146/annurev.ea.08.050180.000245}}</ref> while further review ranked Global-Aerojet-Shell first, Socony Mobil Oil second, and Brown and Root third.<ref name="Greenberg 2"/> In a decision that was widely viewed as political, NSF selected the construction company [[KBR (company)|Brown and Root]] as the prime contractor for the project in February 1962.<ref name="Greenberg 2"/> Brown and Root had no experience in drilling, and its home in Houston was close the congressional district of congressman [[Albert Thomas (American politician)|Albert Thomas]], chair of the [[House Appropriations Committee]]. Brown and Root was also a major political contributor to vice-president [[Lyndon Johnson]].<ref name="G.Shor"/>

[[File:Mohole drilling platform.jpg | thumb|200px | right| A model of the proposed Mohole drilling platform designed by Brown&amp;Root.]]
Brown and Root proved to be troublesome to the existing Mohole scientists and engineers. To those that had been involved with Mohole, Brown and Root lacked understanding of the scientific goals and the engineering requirements, while maintaining an arrogance in their management of Mohole.<ref name="Greenberg 2"/><ref name="G.Shor"/><ref name="Affairs"/> Within two months, Bascom and his Ocean Science and Engineering had such a bad relationship with Brown and Root that they quit the  drilling engineering effort.<ref name="Greenberg 2"/> Ocean Science and Engineering had reviewed Brown & Root's "Engineering Plan Report" and declared it "neither a clear plan nor a sound basis for proceeding."<ref name="E.Shor"/> The contract made clear that the goal of Mohole was to obtain a sample of the Earth's mantle, while many of the AMSOC scientists, such as Hedberg and Ewing, were strongly advocating an intermediate stage of drilling shallow holes in sediments.<ref name="Greenberg 2"/> There were now four managers of Mohole: Brown and Root, AMSOC, the National Science Foundation, and the National Academy of Sciences, and Mohole was suffering from conflicting and poorly-focused engineering and scientific goals.

In November 1963, Hedberg testified during congressional hearings on the Mohole project with a scathing criticism of Mohole purpose and management.<ref name="Greenberg 3"/> He declared, "..this project can readily be one of the greatest and most rewarding scientific ventures ever carried out. I must also say that it can just as readily become instead only a foolish and unjustifiably expensive fiasco if there is not an insistence that it be carried out within a proper concept and in a well-planned, rigorously logical, and scientific manner ...."<ref name="Greenberg 3"/> After the president of the National Academy of Sciences [[Frederick Seitz]] reprimanded him for his testimony, Hedberg resigned from AMSOC.<ref name="Greenberg 3"/><ref name="E.Shor"/>

In January 1964, Lill agreed to become the director for Project Mohole at the National Science Foundation, and the American Miscellaneous Society dissolved itself.<ref name="E.Shor"/>  AMSOC suggested new committees for the scientific aspects of drilling be established at the National Academy of Sciences.<ref name="E.Shor"/>

=== Costs ===
Project Mohole attracted criticism that such an expensive project would undermine smaller science projects.<ref name="G.Lill"/> The project was a separate appropriation from Congress, however, and did not affect existing science programs.<ref name="G.Lill"/>

After the initial Phase 1 success, at relatively modest cost, the project grew in expense. The [[KBR (company)|Brown and Root]] bid was for $35M plus a fee of $1.8M to manage the project and begin organizing the engineering efforts to build the Mohole drilling platform.<ref name="Greenberg 2"/><ref name="Affairs"/> These costs did not include those for the drilling ship and the Mohole drilling operation. Privately the AMSOC management committee thought the final deep drill to the Moho would cost about $40M.<ref name="Affairs"/><ref name="G.Lill"/> Bids were solicited to build the drill ship in March 1965.<ref name="E.Shor"/> The bids received in July 1965<ref name="E.Shor"/> requested funds of about $125M (${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US|125000000|1965}}}} in {{inflation-year|US}} dollars).<ref name="G.Lill"/><ref name="Aground">{{Cite journal |first1=D. S. |last1=Greenberg |date= August 26, 1966 |title=Mohole: Aground on Capitol Hill |journal=Science |volume=153 |issue=3739 |pages=963| doi=10.1126/science.153.3739.963|pmid=17837243 |bibcode=1966Sci...153..963G }}</ref> The managers of Project Mohole (AMSOC, Brown and Root, and NSF) were shocked by the increased cost,<ref name="G.Lill"/><ref name="E.Shor"/> but decided to continue Mohole. [[National Steel and Shipbuilding Company|National Steel and Shipbuilding]] in San Diego was awarded the contract to build the drill ship in September 1965.<ref name="E.Shor"/>

At the time of the termination of Project Mohole in 1966, the project had spent $57M.<ref name="Affairs"/><ref name="Winterer"/>

=== Politics ===
By 1963, numerous articles ridiculing Mohole and its management troubles had appeared in the popular press.<ref name="Greenberg 3"/> An article in ''[[Newsweek]]'' was entitled "Project No Hole", while another article in ''[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]'' was entitled "How NSF Got Lost in Mohole."<ref name="Greenberg 3"/><ref name="Solow">{{Cite journal |first1=Gervert |last1=Solow |date= May 1963 |title=How NSF Got Lost in Mohole |journal=Fortune  |pages=138–209}}</ref> There was little public sympathy for Project Mohole.<ref name="Aground"/>

In 1963, the Congressional Bureau of the Budget wrote to the director of the National Science Foundation [[Alan Tower Waterman|Alan Waterman]]. Highlighting the increasing, uncertain costs, the technical uncertainties, and the "unique administrative problems," the Bureau urged NSF to withhold further financial commitments.<ref name="Greenberg 3"/> In the Fall of 1963 NSF's Senate appropriations committee began hearings on the mismanagement and possible political motivations behind the selection of Brown and Root as primary contractor.<ref name="Greenberg 3"/> The committee deemed the construction of the drilling platform "unwise" and urged no further expenditures.<ref name="Greenberg 3"/> Congressman Thomas was able to reverse this recommendation in conference.<ref name="Greenberg 3"/> The possible political influences on the choice of Brown and Root continued to be revealed.<ref name="Aground"/>

In February 1966 Representative Thomas, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and principal supporter of Project Mohole in Congress, died of pancreatic cancer.<ref name="Aground"/><ref>{{cite web|first=Abby|last=Livingston|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2018/06/15/texas-first-woman-elected-congress-1966-lera-millard-thomas/|title=Texas sent its first woman to Congress in 1966. Why has she been largely forgotten?|work=Texas Tribune|date=15 June 2018|access-date=2 July 2019}}</ref> After his passing Mohole lacked support from the Committee,<ref name="G.Lill"/><ref name="Aground"/> and Congress discontinued the project in May 1966.<ref name="nomohole"/><ref name=mohole /> Another factor was that by the mid-1960s the [[Vietnam War]] was deemed a greater priority for funding.<ref name="Aground"/> While the termination of Mohole funding brought an end to the Brown and Root contract for drilling to the Moho, Congress and the National Science Foundation had already begun to support a separate program of shallow sediment drilling.<ref name="E.Shor"/><ref name="Winterer"/>

== Mohole branches to deep and shallow projects ==
Well before the termination of Mohole, academic scientists began to work toward establishing drilling programs independent of Mohole.<ref name="G.Lill"/> Their interest was drilling in deep-sea sediments, which the CUSS I test had demonstrated to be both feasible and cost effective.<ref name="G.Shor"/> Until this test, oceanographers had only been able to sample the upper 10 m of deep-sea sediment.<ref name="G.Shor"/>

In early 1962 [[Cesare Emiliani]] from the University of Miami proposed a drilling vessel and program called "LOCO" for "LOng COres".<ref name="G.Shor"/> Scientists from the University of Miami, Lamont, Princeton, Woods Hole, and Scripps agreed that such a program was of great interest and that it should be independent of AMSOC and Project Mohole.<ref name="E.Shor"/>  During this time Revelle sought to have SIO as prime contractor or administrator of a drilling program. Proposals to NSF to support LOCO were not successful, however, and LOCO dissolved in April 1963.<ref name="E.Shor"/>

[[Image:GlomarChallengerBW.JPG|thumb|The ''Glomar Challenger'', launched in 1968, was the drill ship for NSF's [[Deep Sea Drilling Project]].]]
The interested institutions began to coordinate and organize themselves for the project, realizing that a large drilling program could not be supported by one organization. In early 1963 an agreement called CORE for a Consortium for Ocean Research and Exploration was signed by Ewing (Lamont), {{ill|John Brackett Hersey|lt=Brackett Hersey|qid=Q95263790|s=1|v=sup}} (WHOI), and Revelle (SIO) to carry out a deep-sea sediment drilling program.<ref name="E.Shor"/> In September 1963 the new director of NSF [[Leland Haworth]] addressed the AMSOC Committee to state that Mohole should consist of two programs, the deep drilling under Brown and Root and a shallow drilling program.<ref name="E.Shor"/> Lill expressed similar advice to the leaders of the oceanographic institutions in March 1964, advising the four main institutions to combine their interests into one large drilling project.<ref name="G.Lill"/><ref name="E.Shor"/> The principal institutions agreed to form the Joint Oceanographic Institutions Deep Earth Sampling ([[Deep Sea Drilling Project|JOIDES]]) program in May 1964.<ref name="E.Shor"/> This event was the formation of the [[Deep Sea Drilling Project]] of the National Science Foundation.<ref name="G.Lill"/>

In October 1964 NSF provided a 2-year contract to the University of Miami to begin planning JOIDES.<ref name="E.Shor"/> The first drilling expedition under JOIDES was in spring 1965 to the Blake Plateau off the southeastern United States. The expedition was led by Lamont on a borrowed ship ''Caldrill.''<ref name="G.Shor"/> In June 1966 Scripps won the prime contract as the operating institution for NSF's Deep Sea Drilling Project.<ref name="E.Shor"/> Construction of new dedicated scientific drill ship ''[[Glomar Challenger]]'' began in 1967, becoming operational in August 1968.<ref name="E.Shor"/>

The oil industry was similarly motivated to begin exploration programs of sediments in continental margins. In 1967, on Hedberg's suggestion, Gulf Oil Exploration launched the exploration ship {{ill|R/V Gulfrex|italic=y|reasonator=1}}, which operated across the globe until 1975, covering some {{convert|160000|mi|nmi km|abbr=off|sp=us}}.<ref name=Holl/><ref name="Gulfrex">{{cite web|url=http://www.gulfhistory.org/specs/ships/page22.html|title=R/V Gulfrex|website=Gulf Ship Web Pages|access-date=15 July 2019}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
Phase One proved that both the technology and expertise were available to drill into the [[Earth's mantle]]. It was intended as the experimental phase of the project, and, by developing and employing dynamic positioning of ships during drilling,<ref name="G.Shor"/> succeeded in drilling to a depth of {{convert|601|ft|abbr=in|order=flip}} below the sea floor.<ref name="mohole"/> While Project Mohole was not successful, the idea led to projects such as NSF's [[Deep Sea Drilling Project]],<ref name="mohole" /> and attempts to drill to extraordinary depths have continued.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190503-the-deepest-hole-we-have-ever-dug|title=The deepest hole we have ever dug|website=BBC|first=Mark|last=Piesing|date=6 May 2019|access-date=25 June 2019}}</ref><ref>Executive summary: “Mantle Frontier” Workshop. Scientific Drilling, 11, 51–55 (2011). {{doi|10.5194/sd-11-51-2011|doi-access=free}}.</ref>

The sci-fi novel series [[Mars trilogy|Red Mars]] has several deep holes in the Martian crust called Moholes. They are deep enough that the hole becomes hot from the mantle and provides heat to the thin Martian atmosphere.

The 1970 ''[[Doctor Who]]'' serial ''[[Inferno (Doctor Who)|Inferno]]'', which also deals with a scientific effort to drill into the Earth's crust, was inspired by Project Mohole.<ref>{{cite episode |series=Barry Letts – Who & Me |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rv45s |network=BBC Radio 7 |title=Episode 7 |airdate=18 April 2010}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{portal|Oceans|Science}}
* [[Ocean Drilling Program]]
* [[Integrated Ocean Drilling Program]]
* [[International Ocean Discovery Program]]
* [[Kola Superdeep Borehole]]
* [[Chikyū]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* [[John Steinbeck]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=9lEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA110 High drama of bold thrust through the ocean floor:  Earth's second layer is tapped in prelude to MOHOLE], ''Life Magazine'', April 14, 1961.
* [[Willard Bascom]], ''[http://scilib.ucsd.edu/sio/hist/bascom_hole_in_bottom.pdf A Hole in the Bottom of the Sea: The Story of the Mohole Project]'', Doubleday & Company, Inc. (Garden City, New York), 1961, 352 pp.  {{ISBN|0-385-00711-6}}.
* [http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/history/archives/milestones-in-NAS-history/project-mohole.html  Project Mohole, 1958–1966] National Academy of Sciences.
* [http://www.nationalacademies.org/mohole/index.html Project Mohole: Commemorating the Accomplishments of Project Mohole 1961–2011] National Academy of Sciences.
* {{Cite book |first1=Edward L. |last1=Winterer |date= 2000 |chapter=Scientific Ocean Drilling, from AMSOC to COMPOST |title=50 Years of Ocean Discovery: National Science Foundation 1950–2000|location=Washington, D.C.|chapter-url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK208831/ |publisher=National Academies Press (US) }}
* {{cite book|last=Van Keuren|first=David K.|title=[[The Machine in Neptune's Garden: Historical Perspectives on Technology and the Marine Environment]]|access-date=July 19, 2020|publisher=Science History Publications|year=2004|isbn=0-88135-372-8|pages=183–210|chapter-url={{GBurl|id=fj0sCBGo1DEC|q=Global+Marine+of+Los+Angeles+CUSS+I|p=191}} |chapter=Breaking New Ground – The Origins of Scientific Ocean Drilling}}
* {{Cite book |first1=Laura |last1=Guertin |first2=Elizabeth |last2=Doyle |first3=Tessa |last3=Peixoto |date=2024 |chapter=CUSS 1 |title=Scientific Ocean Drilling: Exploration and Discovery through Time|chapter-url=https://psu.pb.unizin.org/sciod/chapter/cuss-1/ |publisher=Pennsylvania State University Open Resource Publishing 
 }}

== External links ==
;Videos
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0XH5xh0fqw "Project Mohole – Deep Sea Drilling"] 1959 Horizons of Science/National Science Foundation Film. Ocean core sampling before Mohole from Lamont's [[RV Vema]]. (18:31 min.)
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5_AxsT292o "The First Deep Ocean Drilling, Part 1"] A 1961 film on Mohole by Willard Bascom for the National Academy of Sciences. (18:48 min.)
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K88dwm8rTCc "The First Deep Ocean Drilling, Part 2"] Second part of film. (5:29 min.)

{{Petroleum industry}}

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[[Category:1960s in science]]
[[Category:Deepest boreholes]]
[[Category:Drillships]]
[[Category:History of Earth science]]
[[Category:Marine geology]]
[[Category:Structure of the Earth]]
[[Category:Earth's crust]]
[[Category:Projects established in 1961]]
[[Category:Projects disestablished in 1966]]
[[Category:1961 establishments in Mexico]]