The most women in the last 27 years: the 29th Ukrainian expedition went to Antarctica

The 29th Ukrainian Antarctic Expedition has set off for the Vernadsky Research Station.  It departed today, March 11, 2024, from Kyiv, UNN reports with reference to the National Antarctic Science Center.

According to the National Academy of Sciences, the new team is to replace the winterers from the 28th UAE, who have been working there for almost a year. The new expedition will have a long way to go: by bus to Poland, by plane to Chile, and from the port of Punta Arenas by our icebreaker Noosphere to the Antarctic.

"This is the third rotation of winterers we have conducted during the full-scale war. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find professionals for summer expeditions, because many polar explorers or ideal candidates are at the front. We have already had several cases when potential winterers became military personnel during the selection process. But despite all the difficulties, we cannot stop the Antarctic program. We have no such right either to the past generations, who invested a lot of effort and money to make Ukraine an Antarctic state, or to the present, for whom Antarctica is a window to the world of global science, or even more so to the future, because our presence on the icy continent has extraordinary prospects," said Yevhen Dykyi, Director of the National Academy of Sciences.

The 29th UAE consists of 14 participants who were selected in an open competition. Among them are 9 scientists (3 biologists, meteorologists, and geophysicists) and 5 representatives of the life support team (a doctor, a cook, a system administrator, a system mechanic, and a diesel engineer).

For the first time in the last 27 years, 4 women will work in the expedition (previously, only the second UAE of 1997-1998 had so many polar women). It is noteworthy that one of the participants, geophysicist Anna Soina, went to her second wintering (previously she was in the 25th UAE 2020-2021).

Biologist Tetiana Bahlay, meteorologist Valentyna Harbarchuk, and doctor Ivanna Koturbash are going on their first expedition.

The team consists mostly of newcomers (ten), but they will be led by one of the most experienced polar explorers in Ukraine, geophysicist Yuriy Otruba. This will be his eighth wintering trip.

Throughout the year, the 29th UAE will carry out research in three main areas: biology, geophysics, and meteorology, as well as support the operation of the Akademik Vernadsky station.

Photo: Olena Maksymenko