Learn About India and Its Antarctic Mission

The name Antarctica is derived from the Greek word ‘antarktike’, which means ‘opposite to the north’. Antarctica has the purest air in the world, with over 98% of the continent covered in ice. The Antarctic Treaty of 1959, which created Antarctica as a peaceful and cooperative area, governs the country’s political position.

India is one of the countries investigating Antarctica by drilling holes into the huge ice sheets of the world’s coldest, driest, and windiest continent to get ‘ice cores’. Antarctica is of scientific interest to Indian research initiatives for various reasons, including the study of continent origins and eco-history, climate change, meteorology, and molecular biodiversity. The story of India’s Antarctic mission includes the Indian scientists who found 20 new microorganisms and published over 300 research papers based on their findings.

The Antarctic

In the growth of polar sciences, India’s scientific expedition to the Antarctic brought around sixty national organisations, universities, and national laboratories together. To date, thirty Antarctic expeditions have been carried out. Due to severe snow accumulation, Dakshin Gangotri, the first Indian station in Antarctica, slid below the ice in 1989. 

The second Indian station, Maitri, was erected in 1988 in the Schirmacher Oasis, an ice-free mountainous location. Since then, the station has been home to expedition members and serves as a base for conducting research in eastern Antarctica’s deep interior.

About India’s Antarctic Connection

The National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, oversees the Indian Antarctic Programme, which is multidisciplinary and multi-institutional. India has conducted 35 research missions to the Antarctic. This includes studying atmospheric, biological, earth, chemical, and medicinal sciences as part of a programme.

The Indian Antarctic Programme

The story of India’s Antarctic mission began in 1981 with a group of 21 people led by the Secretary of the Department of Environment and former Director of the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Dr S Z Qasim. The group intended to conduct a scientific study on the frozen continent.

• Since the beginning of the Antarctic study, there have been several discussions on the subject.

• On December 6, 1981, the expedition set out from Goa on the Marine Vessel Polar Circle, which is nothing but a chartered ship from Norway.

• The group arrived in Antarctica on January 9, 1982, and returned to Goa on February 21, 1982, capping a 77-day journey.

Facts about the Indian Antarctic Programme

India has so far established three research outposts for the Indian Antarctic programme under the Antarctic Treaty’s environmental protocol (1959). Facts about the Indian Antarctic Programme have been detailed below:

1. Dakshin Gangotri

• The first Indian scientific and technical base station in Antarctica was established as part of the third Antarctic mission.

• It was founded in 1983–84 at a distance of 2,500 kilometres from the South Pole. This was the first time an Indian team spent the winter in Antarctica conducting research.

• It was excavated in 1989 and now operates as a supply base and transit camp.

2. Maitri

• In 1988, a rocky, ice-free region atop the Schirmacher Oasis was chosen for the construction of Maitri, the second research station.

• The structure was built on steel stilts and has withstood the test of time, conducting geology, geography, and medical investigations.

• It can accommodate 25 people in the main structure throughout the summer and winter. It can house roughly 40 people in the summer facility, which is made up of containerised dwelling modules.

3. Bharati

• Bharati was founded in 2015 next to Larsmann Hill, roughly 3000 kilometres east of Maitri. It is east of Antarctica’s Stornes Peninsula, between Thala Fjord and Quilty Bay.

• During the summer and winter, the station can hold up to 47 workers on a twin-sharing basis in the main structure. It can also hold an additional 25 people in emergency shelters/summer camps, bringing the total capacity to 72.

• The station’s wow element is that it was built out of 134 recycled shipping containers to keep researchers safe while working in inclement weather.

India Launches the 41st Scientific Expedition to Antarctica

On November 15, 2021, India magnificently launched the 41st Scientific Expedition to Antarctica. India’s scientific expedition to the Antarctic included the first group of 23 scientists and support personnel who arrived at Maitri, the second Indian Antarctic station. Four further batches were set to arrive in Antarctica by the middle of January 2022. The Indian Antarctic programme has conducted 40 scientific expeditions since 1981.

Shri. Huidrom Nageshwar Singh, Metrologist, Dr Shailendra Saini, Scientist, and Shri. Anoop Kalayil Soman, Scientist, Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, are leading a team of 48 people on the 41st expedition (Leader, Bharati Station).

Conclusion

With its remoteness, mystery, and scientific promise, the two polar regions – the Arctic and Antarctic – have always motivated humans to launch countless expeditions to uncover the secrets hidden underneath the immense expanses of snow and ice. In 1981, India’s scientific expedition to Antarctica took place. 

The Antarctic Study Centre was founded in 1988 and is dedicated to Antarctic research. In 1999, the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) was dedicated to the nation as an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Earth Sciences. The centre is responsible for planning, promoting, coordinating, and executing the country’s whole range of polar science and logistics initiatives.