Another Belarusian polar expedition officially started in Minsk

Aleksei Gaidashov, head of the expedition, Deputy Head of the Republican Centre for Polar Research, told that the expedition will include researchers from the National Academy of Sciences, BSU, the Republican Centre for Hydrometeorology, Control of Radioactive Contamination and Environmental Monitoring (Belhydromet), and other institutions.

The expedition is made mostly of experienced explorers, but there are some newcomers as well. Mr. Gaidashov has no doubt they can handle everything the Antarctic throws at them.

“All of us went through extensive medical check-ups to see how our bodies recuperate their resources. It’s very similar to the one cosmonauts go through. On top of that, we passed two stages of psychological testing: it’s very important for our work in the Antarctic to go smoothly and efficiently, without some unforeseen adventures,” he explained.

In other countries, the fairer sex does go exploring the Antarctic, but Belarusian women seem so far reluctant to be included in the expedition parties, so the team is male only.
There are no gender prejudices there, Mr. Gaidashov assures. But wishing is not enough to go to the Antarctic: you have to have qualifications and skills that would be needed there.

In October, while meeting scientists and polar explorers, President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko focused on practical benefits from the Antarctic research. Mr. Gaidashov told the President that the South Pole’s unique conditions are used for testing complex machines: many of them are better than the similar foreign-made devices, while others are completely one-of-a-kind. Some of them are: the geophysics signal logging array, the MARS-B spectrometre, the immersion photometre, the solar spectral albedometre, the mobile weather station array, the immersion bathyscaph, etc.
“The Head of State has set certain objectives for us. We have our forward base in the Antarctic: the Belarusian research station. Our next step is to start introducing applied research objectives to our expeditions that can have tangible, practical results in the nearest future,” said the head of the expedition.
In the Antarctic, researchers are going to run tests in biology, microbiology, atmosphere physics, seismology, and weather studies, to help us understand the global climate change. Continuing with the practical results angle, Mr. Gaidashov explained, “Every year, we bring back unique material specimens and observations obtained through hard work. For research teams and science managers here, at home, the objective is to promote and commercialise the results we provide.”

The expedition’s forward team will go to the South Pole in early November. Explorers will stay there till mid-April 2025.