"We are confident enough that we have blocked out the time on the schedule for this mission," Fourqurean said.  In a tribute to his renowned grandfather, a Cousteau plans to launch the longest mission ever undertaken aboard the Aquarius, the undersea habitat at the Florida Keys reef. The Aquarius Reef Base, owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and now under operation by Florida International University staff, lies in 63 feet of water at Conch Reef off Islamorada. Dozens of others around the world have been mothballed due to high costs. Aquarius residents can dive around outside for six to nine hours a day without decompressing, compared with a limit of about an hour for divers working from the surface, because they stay underwater. VIP VISITORS 
 
 Cousteau's grandfather, who died in 1997, first demonstrated that saturation diving could be done safely when he spent 30 days in an underwater habitat in the Red Sea off Sudan in 1963, an adventure chronicled in the Academy Award-winning documentary film "World Without Sun." On the VIP list are Richard Branson, the British magnate who runs a space tourism company; Sylvia Earle, the ocean explorer and former NOAA chief scientist known as "Her Deepness;" and tentatively Black Eyed Peas singer will.i.am, whose i.am.angel foundation is training a dozen young first-time divers for a visit the lab. They'll check in periodically on the Weather Channel and hope to arrange a chat with astronauts living aboard the International Space Station. "As previous missions have lasted a maximum of 18 days, this will be the first time Aquarius has hosted a mission of this length."
– While you're spending October planning what candy you'll hand out on Halloween, Fabien Cousteau will be spending the month underwater. He's aiming to spend a record-breaking 31 days in the deep blue, surfacing on October 31, on the 50th anniversary of his grandfather Jacques Cousteau's record-setting 30 days underwater in the Red Sea. The third-generation oceanographer and a team of five others will stay at NOAA's Aquarius habitat, a 43-foot cylindrical lab off the Florida Keys that sits 50 to 60 feet below the surface—the last undersea lab still in operation, Reuters reports. The adventure, which will take place twice as deep as the elder Cousteau's, will be broadcast 24 hours a day, the Tampa Tribune adds. While there, the "Mission 31" team will go diving outside the lab and will also explore on underwater motorcycles, collecting information about the ocean's health as well as the impact living underwater has on their bodies. "We get to see things in the way you would if you were immersed like a fish," Cousteau says. They'll look for evidence of climate change and test new equipment, the Florida Keys Keynoter reports. They'll also Skype with school children, the Weather Channel, and International Space Station astronauts; make a 3D IMAX documentary; and entertain VIP guests including Richard Branson and, tentatively, will.i.am. As for the nitty-gritty, Aquarius does have a shower, bathroom, and air conditioning in addition to six bunks, where they'll sleep just five to six hours per night.