For 15-year-old Tanzanian student Xyleen Mapunda, visiting the North Pole and seeing snow and polar bears was probably a once-in-a-lifetime memory that she will cherish for years to come.
For the teenager, reaching the “top of the world” on her first-ever overseas trip was an exhilarating experience, made even more special by the distinction of being the first Tanzanian schoolgirl to achieve the feat.
“It was simply an incredible feeling. Standing on the Arctic and holding my country’s flag... that excitement is impossible to describe in words,” she said.
Indonesian student Galen Athayam Rinaldi Putra, 16, from East Java, described the journey to the North Pole as unforgettable.
Becoming the second Indonesian teenager to set foot at the North Pole was already a proud achievement for him, but reaching the Arctic during the month his country celebrates its independence made the moment even more meaningful.
Mapunda and Galen were among 68 students aged 14 to 16 from various countries, including Russia, who participated in the Seventh International Scientific and Educational Expedition ‘Icebreaker of Knowledge’, organised by Russian autonomous non-profit organisation (ANO) ‘Energy of the Future’ with the support of Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom).
The 10-day expedition, which also included several Russian researchers and scientists, saw the participants travelling aboard Atomflot’s nuclear-powered icebreaker ‘50 Let Pobedy’, which departed Murmansk on Aug 4 and sailed across the Arctic Ocean to the North Pole and Franz Josef Land, before returning to Murmansk on Aug 13, covering around 2,500 to 3,000 nautical miles.
(Atomflot is a Russian company that maintains the world’s only fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers. It is part of the Rosatom group and is based in Murmansk, located in the northwestern part of Russia beyond the Arctic Circle.)
The expedition’s student participants were selected after they emerged as winners of an international science competition organised by Rosatom and ANO ‘Energy of the Future’.
During the voyage, the young participants got to explore the nature of the Far North, observe the operation of a nuclear-powered icebreaker and learn more about the role of nuclear technology in the development of Arctic shipping.
GRAND SEND-OFF
Bernama was among 15 media representatives from eight countries invited to witness the departure of the ‘Icebreaker of Knowledge’ expedition at the FSUE Atomflot base in the port of Murmansk on Aug 4.
It was also part of a five-day media trip organised by Rosatom to provide the invited journalists with a closer understanding of the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and the operations of Russia’s nuclear icebreaker fleet, which plays a crucial role in ensuring safe and efficient navigation across the Arctic. (The NSR is a 5,600-kilometre shipping corridor along Russia’s Arctic coast that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans from the Barents Sea to the Bering Strait).
The send-off ceremony – held on the icebreaker’s helipad and helicopter deck – unfolded in a prestigious yet festive atmosphere against the imposing backdrop of ‘50 Let Pobedy’, the very vessel that would carry the young participants on their 10-day Arctic adventure.
It was freezing cold that morning, with the temperature hovering at around eight to 10 degrees Celsius, but the biting Arctic wind made it feel considerably colder. After all, Murmansk port is just 2,335 kilometres (1,451 miles or 1,260 nautical miles) away from the North Pole.
Against the striking red hull of ‘50 Let Pobedy’, the schoolchildren dressed in red winter coats gathered alongside the researchers and scientists clad in blue, making the two groups instantly distinguishable, with the flags of the participating countries, including Russia, fluttering around the gathering area.
For many of the schoolchildren, the moment marked the beginning of their extraordinary journey to one of the most remote places on Earth. Some of their parents and teachers were also present to see them off on the expedition.
Mina Semele Masoga, a science teacher from Pretoria, South Africa, told Bernama that she was proud her student had made it this far and had the opportunity to be part of the expedition.
“This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most of the schoolchildren here. I hope they will bring home the knowledge and experiences they have gained from this journey and share them with their peers when they return home,” she said.
A translator informed the journalists that after leaving the port, ‘50 Let Pobedy’ would sail across the Barents Sea towards the high latitudes of the Arctic, before proceeding to the Franz Josef Land archipelago and eventually reaching the geographic North Pole.
SEEING POLAR BEARS
After the send-off ceremony, which lasted about two hours, the media group was given about 30 minutes to explore some of the common areas on board ‘50 Let Pobedy’ before disembarking.
These included the café, dining room, lounge, library, auditorium, souvenir shop, volleyball court, gymnasium, heated indoor swimming pool, massage room and two saunas.
During the 10-day expedition, the participants had access to these facilities while also taking part in a comprehensive scientific and educational programme organised on board, including activities at a fully equipped aerospace laboratory.
‘50 Let Pobedy’ captain Ruslan Sasov said preparations for the expedition had begun several months earlier, with the crew working to ensure that the schoolchildren on board would not only experience the North Pole and encounter polar bears, but also understand the educational value and purpose behind the ‘Icebreaker of Knowledge’ project.
“Over the seven seasons of the ‘Icebreaker of Knowledge’ project, more than 470 talented students from around the world have participated in Rosatom’s Arctic expeditions to the North Pole.
“The project provided them with a unique opportunity to learn about an operating nuclear icebreaker and the cutting-edge scientific and technological developments of the Russian nuclear industry,” he told the media ahead of the departure, speaking through a translator.
Sasov said the crew had always approached the project with particular care, recognising the impact such an extraordinary journey could have on the younger generation.
“The crew always treats this project with special care: such voyages truly contribute to the development of the younger generation.
“Many of them dreamed of visiting the North Pole and seeing polar bears, and I am very glad that Rosatom and our crew helped make that dream come true,” he said.
SCIENCE AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD
Meanwhile, an expert involved in the ‘Icebreaker of Knowledge’ scientific and educational expedition Anton Yurmanov said one of the highlights of the journey is the aerospace laboratory, which allows the young participants to experience how scientific research is conducted in one of the world’s most remote environments.
In a statement released after the expedition last month, Yurmanov, who is also vice-rector for Research and Innovation at Murmansk Arctic University, said during the voyage, the participants worked alongside scientists to prepare and conduct two unique experiments. These involved the launch of a radiosonde to support communications in remote Arctic areas and along Northern Sea Route shipping lanes, as well as the testing of what organisers described as the world’s first returnable stratospheric platform for environmental monitoring.
The platform was launched for the first time in the vicinity of the Franz Josef Land archipelago, reaching an altitude of more than 15 kilometres and travelling over 100 kilometres before successfully landing at a designated location on Hooker Island.
“During this (recent) expedition, we managed to achieve the main goal – combining an educational programme with a real scientific testing task.
“As a result of the experiment using the returnable stratospheric platform, meteorological data and video materials were obtained that will further help improve the efficiency of monitoring the Arctic and the NSR.
“The uniqueness of the platform lies in the fact that it can be recovered, its flight path can be set, and it can be used repeatedly while preserving valuable payloads. Such experiments are only possible with the participation of the Russian nuclear icebreaker fleet,” he explained.
Egor Plakhotnyuk, project head at the Laboratory of Genomic Technologies and Tissue Engineering of the Research Institute of Technical Physics and Automation (which is part of Rosatom’s Science Division), said the expedition provided the young participants with an opportunity to witness practical scientific applications.
“It is especially important to show these experiments to young people in person, and it is wonderful that this can be done right on board the nuclear icebreaker ‘50 Let Pobedy’. The expedition enabled the students to witness that Russian science is about the future and about real technologies that change people's lives for the better,” he said.
NUCLEAR ICEBREAKER FLEET
Atomflot director-general Yakov Antonov said Russia’s nuclear icebreaker fleet is one of the country’s key capabilities in the Arctic region, with Russia being the only country operating such vessels.
He said the fleet currently comprises eight nuclear-powered icebreakers, among them being ‘50 Let Pobedy’.
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He said the vessel is powered by two OK-900A nuclear reactors, each with a thermal capacity of 171 megawatts, as well as two 27.6-megawatt turbo-generators driving three shafts, which can maintain a speed of about 18 knots and remain at sea for extended periods, with its operational endurance largely determined by supplies carried on board.
“Its nuclear propulsion system also enables the icebreaker to operate for years without conventional refuelling, an important advantage for vessels navigating the vast and often inaccessible Arctic.
“Radiation levels on board are continuously monitored by sensors positioned throughout the vessel, while its nuclear installation is supported by safety, waste collection and processing systems,” he said, through a translator.
According to Antonov, ‘50 Let Pobedy’ has a gross tonnage of 23,439 tonnes and a draught of about 11 metres, and is 159.6 metres long and 30 metres wide.
“More importantly for its work in the Arctic, the powerful vessel is capable of breaking through ice up to 2.8 metres thick while travelling at about two knots,” he said.
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