Icebreaker “Noosfera” arrived at the Akademik Vernadsky station for the first time this season (photo)

The Ukrainian icebreaker “Noosfera” reached the Antarctic station “Akademik Vernadskyi” – for the first time in the fourth Antarctic season.

The scientific research vessel “Noosphere” reached the station “Akademik Vernadskyu” on January 3. This was  reported by the press service of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine on Facebook.

The icebreaker’s visit to Antarctica is the first in the fourth Antarctic season. Several more such trips are planned during the season.

“On the way to the station, we managed to successfully bypass all the cyclones, and even the “Drake” (note: Drake Strait) was not too stormy this time, the maximum wave height was 3-4 meters,” shared the ship’s captain Pavlo Panasyuk.

“Noosphere” delivered a technical team to continue the modernization of the station, which began even before the full-scale invasion. This season, it is planned to update the sewage system, replace the lighting, and expand the site for meteorological research.

The ship also brought the necessary materials and equipment for the work, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables, which the expedition members had not seen for several months.

The ship is currently being unloaded. After that, the Noosphere will sail to the Chilean port of Punta Arenas to continue its Antarctic mission.

As a reminder, the “Noosfera” icebreaker began its fourth Antarctic season on December 12. In particular, the ship’s crew will conduct marine research together with American and Czech polar explorers.

Research is also planned under two projects within the Horizon Europe program: OCEAN:ICE (oceanographic research of currents in the Bransfield Strait) and EXPLORA (sampling of marine bacteria for their further cultivation).

As USM wrote, on New Year’s Eve, the flagship of the Ukrainian scientific fleet arrived at the Polish Antarctic station “Artztowski”.