China's first-ever domestically made icebreaker Xuelong 2 embarked on a research trip to the Cosmonauts Sea on December 3, 2019. The ship left Shenzhen City, in south China's Guangdong Province, on October 15 for the country's 36th Antarctic expedition.

Xuelong 2's main task is to break sea ice to create a clear route for its sister ship Xuelong to reach Zhongshan Station, a Chinese research station in Antarctica.