3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition
Encyclopedia
The Third Soviet Antarctic Expedition
(1957–59) was led by Yevgeny Tolstikov
on the continent; the marine expedition on the Ob was led by I V Maksimov.
Two diesel-electric
ships were used to transport the expedition. RV Ob (flagship; captain I A Man) and Kooperatsiya (captain A S Yantselevich), used mainly as a transport vessel. The ships arrived in Antarctica in November – December 1957. Together with the ships crews the expedition consisted of 445 men, of whom 183 were scheduled for wintering.
The tasks of the expedition were:
The programme included 6 stations: (Mirny
; Vostok
; Sovetskaya; Oasis; Pionerskaya and Komsomol'skaya).
The first tractor-train to the interior left on 26 December, with 32 men. On 2 January 1958 the train arrived at Pionerskaya, and left again on the 8th. On the 17th they reached Komsomol'skaya; conditions of travel were difficult. A portion of the train (7 tractors and sledges) left on the 20th to relieve Vostok, arriving on the 27th, and delivering over 100 tons of cargo. On the 28th the train left for Komsomol'skaya, arriving on the 31st. On 3 February the train, with 27 men, left to found Sovetskaya; they reached 78° 24′ S, 87° 35′ E on the 10th, at an altitude of 3570 m. The station was rapidly constructed, and the train left on the 18th, returning to Mirny on 4 March, having completed a round trip of 4000 km (2,485.5 mi).
Soviet Antarctic Expedition
The Soviet Antarctic Expedition was part of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute of the Soviet Committee on Antarctic Research of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR....
(1957–59) was led by Yevgeny Tolstikov
Yevgeny Tolstikov
Yevgeny Ivanovich Tolstikov was a Soviet polar explorer, awarded by the Hero of the Soviet Union title. He led the Third Soviet Antarctic Expedition and one of the first manned drifting ice station in the Arctic....
on the continent; the marine expedition on the Ob was led by I V Maksimov.
Two diesel-electric
Diesel-electric
Diesel-electric transmission or diesel-electric powertrain is used by a number of vehicle and ship types for providing locomotion.A diesel-electric transmission system includes a diesel engine connected to an electrical generator, creating electricity that powers electric traction motors...
ships were used to transport the expedition. RV Ob (flagship; captain I A Man) and Kooperatsiya (captain A S Yantselevich), used mainly as a transport vessel. The ships arrived in Antarctica in November – December 1957. Together with the ships crews the expedition consisted of 445 men, of whom 183 were scheduled for wintering.
The tasks of the expedition were:
- Relief of the 1956–1958 continental expedition and continuation of the IGYInternational Geophysical YearThe International Geophysical Year was an international scientific project that lasted from July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War when scientific interchange between East and West was seriously interrupted...
programme - Organisation of the SovetskayaSovetskaya (Antarctic Research Station)Sovetskaya was a Soviet research station in Antarctica at . The surface elevation was initially reported to be 3,570 m; however, it was later revised to 3,662 m. Reached on 16 February 1958 by the 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition for International Geophysical Year research work, it closed on 3...
station at the pole of relative inaccessibility - Continuation of tractor-sledge traverses in central Antarctica
- Oceanographic work on the Ob in the southern oceans, and cartography of the coast from Mirny to the Bellingshausen sea
The programme included 6 stations: (Mirny
Mirny Station
Mirny is a Russian science station in Antarctica, located on the Antarctic coast of the Davis Sea in the Australian Antarctic Territory. Named after support vessel of the Bellingshausen's expedition....
; Vostok
Vostok Station
Vostok Station was a Russian Antarctic research station. It was at the southern Pole of Cold, with the lowest reliably measured natural temperature on Earth of −89.2 °C . Research includes ice core drilling and magnetometry...
; Sovetskaya; Oasis; Pionerskaya and Komsomol'skaya).
The first tractor-train to the interior left on 26 December, with 32 men. On 2 January 1958 the train arrived at Pionerskaya, and left again on the 8th. On the 17th they reached Komsomol'skaya; conditions of travel were difficult. A portion of the train (7 tractors and sledges) left on the 20th to relieve Vostok, arriving on the 27th, and delivering over 100 tons of cargo. On the 28th the train left for Komsomol'skaya, arriving on the 31st. On 3 February the train, with 27 men, left to found Sovetskaya; they reached 78° 24′ S, 87° 35′ E on the 10th, at an altitude of 3570 m. The station was rapidly constructed, and the train left on the 18th, returning to Mirny on 4 March, having completed a round trip of 4000 km (2,485.5 mi).
Landscape features discovered
- Gamburtsev Mountain RangeGamburtsev Mountain RangeThe Gamburtsev Mountain Range is a subglacial mountain range located in Eastern Antarctica, near Dome A. The range was discovered by the 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition in 1958 and is named for Soviet geophysicist Grigoriy A. Gamburtsev...
- Golitsyn Mountains
- Schmidt plain