The icebreaker “Noosfera” completed its fifth Antarctic season: the ship returned to Cape Town
29.05.2026 - 12:30
During the season, the Noosphere team made a record 9 trips to Antarctica and crossed the most turbulent place on the planet — the Drake Passage — 18 times.
This was reported by the National Antarctic Science Center (NASC).
On Thursday, May 28, the fifth Antarctic season of the Ukrainian scientific research icebreaker Noosphere ended. The ship returned to the port of Cape Town (South Africa), where it is based between polar missions.
The season lasted more than 7 months — from mid-October to the end of May (for comparison: last year was almost 5 months). The “Noosfera” team made a record 9 trips to Antarctica and crossed the most turbulent place on the planet — the Drake Passage — 18 times. In total, the ship traveled more than 30 thousand miles (more than 56 thousand km), which exceeds the length of the Earth’s equator.
The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine emphasized that this season the Noosphere crossed the Arctic Circle twice to conduct scientific research in Margaret Bay.
“Our Antarctic station “Akademik Vernadsky” is located in front of the Antarctic Circle. So for Ukraine this is a significant expansion of the research zone,” the scientists noted.
In particular, research was conducted on board the “Noosfera”, and the vessel also ensured scientific and/or logistical cooperation of Ukraine with the largest number of countries in all seasons. Traditionally, in the fifth season, the icebreaker provided a changeover on the Vernadskyi for the annual 30th and 31st Ukrainian Antarctic expeditions, as well as the delivery and return of the seasonal detachment.
We will remind, this season the “Noosfera” icebreaker delivered the 7-ton all-terrain vehicle “Pink Flamingo” to the Antarctic station.
