Ukrainian Noosphere completes the Antarctic season: why it was a record-breaking one
13 May 2025 09:42
The most active fourth Antarctic season of the Ukrainian research icebreaker Noosphere has ended and the ship has returned to the South African port of Cape Town. This was reported by the National Antarctic Research Center, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
What makes this season special
For almost 5 months of work, the Noosphere team has made a record 5 voyages to the Antarctic, and crossed the world’s most turbulent Drake Passage 10 (!) times.
In total, the ship sailed over 20 thousand nautical miles, which is more than 37 thousand kilometers, almost equal to the length of the Earth’s equator.
And, of course, this season was also a record-breaking one in terms of the number of collaborations with foreign partners.
What work did the flagship of the Antarctic fleet do?
First, it provided a changeover of the 29th and 30th Ukrainian Antarctic expeditions, as well as transported a seasonal expedition to and from Vernadsky station, which performed tasks at the station during the Antarctic summer.
Secondly, joint flights were conducted with the expeditions of the Antarctic programs of Poland, the USA, Spain and the Czech Republic. These flights were funded by these countries and provided Ukraine with more opportunities to meet the needs of its own program, in particular, to deliver additional cargo and specialists to Vernadsky.
Thirdly, a number of geological, oceanographic, and meteorological studies have been carried out. For example, within the framework of the international project OCEAN:ICE, Ukrainian scientists launched 6 argobuoys for the first time, which are already actively collecting information about currents in the Southern Ocean. Also, for the first time, our scientists conducted simultaneous radio sounding of the atmosphere from Vernadsky and Noosphere to learn more about the processes of cloud formation and precipitation in the area and their impact on the ocean, sea ice, and glacier melting.
The rich program of the fourth season was led by two Ukrainian captains from Odesa region: Pavlo Panasyuk and Andriy Starish. Unfortunately, due to the Russian aggression, Noosphere cannot return to its home port of Odesa. Therefore, it is currently in the port of temporary deployment – Cape Town (South Africa).
We remind you that from January 2022 to May 2025, Noosphere successfully completed four Antarctic seasons.
