The final textual content despatched to a pal by the British billionaire aboard the Titan submersible has been revealed. Retired Nasa astronaut Colonel Terry Virts shared an perception into his friendship with entrepreneur and explorer Hamish Harding and in addition revealed the content material of the final message he obtained from the billionaire earlier than he launched into the intense journey.

The message learn: "Hey, we're headed out tomorrow, it looks good, the weather's been bad so they've been waiting for this."

Mr Harding is chairman of personal aircraft agency Action Aviation and a seasoned explorer.

In 2021, the London-born entrepreneur dived with a submersible into the Mariana Trench and traversed it for 4 hours and quarter-hour, a journey which earned him one in every of his three Guinness World Records.

Last June, he efficiently accomplished an area journey with Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin.

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Speaking concerning the adventurer, Colonel Virts informed ITV's Good Morning Britain: "We don't really talk about risks, it's known. He understood the risks for sure, there's no doubt about that."

After studying out the textual content despatched by his pal, he added: "He went down to the deepest part of the ocean, set a few world records… at the Mariana Trench [deepest part of the ocean] and we talked quite a bit about the risks and the different things that they were going to be able to do. So he was very excited about it.

The journey to the Titanic, Colonel Virts said, wasn't just meant to be a fun experience but also a chance to do "some critical science" focused on how the Titanic is starting to disintegrate more than a century after it tragically sunk.

Norwegian explorer Jannicke Mikkelsen, another friend of Mr Harding, said he believes the 58-year-old would remain "calm" regardless of the disaster.

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Speaking with Chris Cuomo on NewsNation, he added: "My concern is that they did not make their final ascent window. They did not. We are beginning to make worst-case situations."

Mr Harding is one of the five people who joined an expedition set to venture hundreds of feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean to explore the wreckage of the Titanic.

This trip is organised by OceanGate Expeditions, a private company charging £195,250 ($250,000) for this journey.

Rescuers are facing a race against time, as there is a limited supply of oxygen on the vessel which might deplete even quicker if these aboard panic or transfer round an excessive amount of.

The US Coast Guard estimated the vessel had between 70 to 96 hours of emergency oxygen as of 10pm BST on Monday.