Ukraine and Indonesia will launch joint research from the equator to Antarctica
Kyiv • UNN
Ukraine and Indonesia have signed a five-year memorandum on joint Antarctic and tropical research. The first projects will begin in December.
Ukraine and Indonesia will conduct Antarctic and tropical research together. This is provided for by a Memorandum on Scientific and Technical Cooperation concluded today, August 20, 2026, between the National Antarctic Scientific Center (NANC) and the National Research and Innovation Agency of the Republic of Indonesia (BRIN), UNN reports, citing the NANC.
The Memorandum provides for cooperation in the following areas:
- global links between the atmosphere of Antarctica, the Southern Ocean, the tropics, and Earth's climate change;
- the geological structure and composition of geological formations in regions with active tectonics;
- biodiversity and the adaptation of marine and terrestrial organisms to extreme environmental conditions — from low temperatures and high levels of ultraviolet radiation in Antarctica to active volcanism in the tropics;
- bioprospecting — the search for and study of biologically active substances and genes with biotechnology potential in extremophilic organisms;
- space weather, etc.
For Indonesia, which declared its intention to accede to the Antarctic Treaty last year, the Memorandum opens up opportunities to work in this region. In particular, it will allow the countries to conduct joint field research at Ukraine's Akademik Vernadsky Station and aboard the Noosphere icebreaker.
In the future, this could contribute to Indonesia establishing its own research station in Antarctica (Turkey's Antarctic program has already followed a similar path, beginning at Vernadsky, and Mexico's program has been following it since last season).
As the NANC noted, for Ukraine this is not only an opportunity to expand international cooperation in Antarctic research, but also to participate in work in tropical regions jointly with Indonesian colleagues, using BRIN's research infrastructure and expertise.
"The equatorial and polar regions of Earth may seem maximally contrasting, but at the same time they are closely interconnected. Atmospheric rivers formed over Indonesia melt the glaciers of the Antarctic Peninsula. The Southern Ocean's connection with the other oceans sustains the global circulation of currents — the same circulation that largely determines, among other things, Ukraine's climate. Combining the efforts of Ukrainian Antarctic researchers and our colleagues who live and work directly on the equator will allow us to see a more comprehensive picture of how common planetary processes function," said NANC Director Yevhen Dykyi.
The Memorandum has been concluded for five years, with the possibility of extension. At the same time, the first joint Antarctic projects will begin as early as December: Indonesian scientists will start field research at Vernadsky and aboard the Noosphere.
We will certainly provide additional updates on the specific work and results of the cooperation. For now, we congratulate Ukraine and Indonesia on this new opportunity to study our shared and highly vulnerable planet together — from the equator to Antarctica.