Scientists will work out the technology of growing cucumber in Antarctica and try to extract a sample of ice over a million years old

The 68th Russian Antarctic Expedition will start on November 15th. The polar explorers will leave for Antarctica from the port of St. Petersburg aboard the research expedition vessel "Akademik Fedorov".

The route of the expedition will pass through Bremerhaven and Cape Town. The finishing point will be Progress station. The ship is due to arrive in Antarctica at the end of December. The expedition will last about seven months and end by mid-June 2023.

There will be 259 people on board the ship, including scientists from the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, employees of the Zapsibgazprom company and representatives of other scientific organizations. The work will be carried out at 5 Russian Antarctic stations and 5 seasonal field bases.

One of the tasks of the expedition will be the construction of a new wintering complex at Vostok station. Last year, the site was prepared, this season it is planned to assemble three of the five modules of the complex. The construction of the complex is expected to be completed by 2025. It will be a fundamental building 140 meters long, comparable in size to a five-story building.

In addition, several dozen scientific works are planned within the framework of the expedition. Scientists will conduct large-scale scientific research related to the study of the natural environment of the Antarctic and global climate change at Russian Antarctic stations and seasonal field bases.
In particular, work will continue to study the concentration and distribution of plastic debris in order to determine the possible sources of its debris entering the Southern Ocean. The experts plan to present the first results of this work next spring.

In addition, scientists plan to extract a core over 1 million years old from the thickness of the glacier above Lake Vostok.

“As part of the program “Using the Russian Vostok station in Antarctica as an analogue of a long-term habitable base on the Moon”, an experiment will continue to develop a year-round plant cultivation system in the phytotechnical complex (greenhouse) at Vostok station,” the research institute said.

At Vostok station, various varieties of plant crops are already successfully grown. Last year, 28.5 kg of tomatoes and 9 kg of pepper were grown per 1 sq. m. This year, scientists will evaluate the productivity of two phytocomplexes and work out the technology for growing cucumber and watermelon.

The experiment will be carried out throughout the winter. The plants will not only be grown for experimental purposes, but will also be used in the kitchen to supplement the winterers' diet. In addition, the greenhouse creates a favorable emotional background at the station.