Specifically, Mir-1 descended to 13,980 feet (4.26 kilometers, or 2.65 miles), while Mir-2 went to 14,144 feet (4.31 kilometers, or 2.67 miles) below the water’s surface. Although deep by any standard, the dives were not the deepest on record. On January 23, 1960, the two-person bathyscaphe (“deep boat”) Trieste descended to about 35,813 feet (10.92 kilometers, or 6.78 miles) into the Challenger Deep within the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean—the deepest part of any ocean on Earth. Swiss explorer Jacques Piccard and U.S. naval officer Don Walsh were onboard the Trieste during its trip.

The North Pole expedition left from Murmansk, on the Barents Sea, on Tuesday, July 24, 2007. The submarines began their dives at about 8 am Moscow time on Thursday. They descended through a large man-made hole in the five-foot-thick ice pack. While on the bottom of the sea, Chilingarov, in the first sub, planted a Russian flag while McDowell, in the second sub, studied the biological, geological, and chemical features of the area and collected geological and water samples.
 

The purpose of the expedition was to strengthen Russia’s claim to about half a million squre miles of seafloor (about one-half of the Arctic seabed). Russia claims that the Eurasian continental shelf extends from Russia’s coast to the pole—specifically, the underwater Lomonosov Ridge, which goes from Siberia to the North Pole. The underwater mountain range , which is about 1,240 miles (2,000 kilometers) in length, was discovered in 1948 by explorers from the Soviet Union. It was named for Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov. The dives will help the Russians to map the Lomonosov Ridge in order to prove their claim to the area.

Thus, Russian officials contend that their country owns that section of the seafloor, which possibly holds large amounts of oil and natural gas deposits—likely up to one-quarter of the of the world’s known reserves. The dispute will be decided by international law, specifically by the United Nations' Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Currently, the United States, Russia, Canada, Denmark, and Norway claim coastal properties near the Arctic Circle.

According to the USA Today article “Russian subs seek glory at North Pole”, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the expedition should strengthen Russia’s claim to the region. He said, "I think this expedition will supply additional scientific evidence for our aspirations." However, he added that the property rights decision "will be resolved in strict compliance with international law."

Russia's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) organized the expedition.

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