“Stay safe, perseverance leads to victory,” said Li Yuansheng, leader of China’s 28th Antarctic scientific expedition team, encouraging Jin Bo, head of the inland team, during a phone call on the afternoon of the 29th local time. Since departing from near China’s Zhongshan Station in Antarctica on the 16th, the 26 members of this inland expedition team have advanced 900 kilometers.
The destination of this journey is China’s Kunlun Station in Antarctica, located in the ice dome A region in the heart of the continent. As the highest point on the Antarctic ice sheet, ice dome A stands at an altitude of 4,093 meters, with a straight-line distance of 1,228 kilometers from Zhongshan Station and a vehicle travel distance of about 1,300 kilometers. Starting from the departure assembly area about 10 kilometers from Zhongshan Station, the inland team needs approximately 20 days to reach Kunlun Station.
According to reports, since their departure, the inland team members have endured harsh polar conditions such as blowing snow and whiteout weather. Meanwhile, three out of the original eight snow vehicles have experienced malfunctions and can no longer be used. To reduce the load on the remaining five vehicles, the inland team had to discard some fuel and construction materials, reducing the number of sleds pulled by the snow vehicles from 33 to 25. Despite the numerous challenges, the team members have maintained a positive spirit.
Li Yuansheng explained that after traveling about 800 kilometers from Zhongshan Station toward Kunlun Station, the team will encounter a soft snow zone. In this area, the snow vehicles’ tracks are prone to sinking into the loose snow. When progressing between 900 and 1,000 kilometers, they will come across a snow dune-dense area described as a “nightmare,” “The dunes in this area are not only densely packed but also very large, with uneven terrain, making it extremely difficult to traverse.”
Since the 13th Antarctic scientific expedition team conducted the first inland ice sheet survey in 1996, China has carried out 10 inland ice sheet expeditions. Li Yuansheng, who has participated in seven of these inland ice sheet surveys, said that conducting scientific research in the harsh inland regions of Antarctica involves many uncertainties and is an extremely challenging endeavor, requiring expedition members to overcome difficulties with strong perseverance and exceptional wisdom.
Currently, the inland team is over 350 kilometers away from the Kunlun Station in Antarctica, at an altitude of 3,000 meters. Upon arriving at Kunlun Station, the inland team will carry out deep ice core directional drilling, installation of the AST3 sky survey telescope, and maintenance of astronomical instruments in the Kunlun Station area. Where vehicle conditions allow, they will also conduct ice sheet exploration, mapping of the Kunlun Station, and summer scientific research projects including glaciology and meteorology.
