Doug Allan

With an innate sense of charm and style, he is a natural in front of the camera.

In the late 1950s, Cousteau takes on the directorship of Monaco's Oceanographic Museum and helps develop a revolutionary underwater vehicle nicknamed the Diving Saucer for its resemblance to the classic UFO shape.

But soon his busy mind turns to greater challenges.

He begins to imagine a world where humans can live underwater and sets out to make it a reality.

The first step in this ambitious journey is a project called Corn Shelf One.

It is a watertight capsule the size of a large bedroom which sits at around 33 feet below the surface of the coast of Marseille.

The aquanauts, as they are known, are under daily medical supervision, and with air pumped in, they enter and exit through a hole in the floor, known as the moon pool.

The air pressure inside the chamber prevents the water from flooding in.

In the Red Sea of the coast of Sudan, Corn Shelf 2 features two separate residences.

At 100 feet, the deep cabin is home to just two aquanauts for a week.

The bigger habitat, close to the surface at 33 feet, is called Starfish House.

Taking its name from its shape, it is a two-story structure with everything from air conditioning to sun lamps to a garage for the diving saucer.

There, five aquanauts live and work for a month.

Air is pumped from the Italian cargo ship Risaldo, though the smaller Calypso ferries supplies from the shore.

And visitors from the Risaldo can pop to the underwater village for a visit.

It is July 1963, a swelteringly hot day.

Off the coast of Sudan, Simone Cousteau stands on the deck of Rosaldo, preparing to dive.

She shifts her weight under the cylinder on her back.

After getting a final once-over from a crew member, with her fins in one hand, she begins to descend the ladder on the side of the ship.

When the water reaches her chest, she rinses out her mask, pulls it on and fits her mouthpiece, taking a testing breath.