China's 40th Antarctic expedition inland team sets off for scientific research

Twenty-nine members of a team on China's 40th Antarctic expedition began their journeys to Kunlun Station and Grove Mountains for scientific research after a ceremony at the Zhongshan Station on Saturday.

Twenty members will pass through Taishan Station to reach Kunlun Station, which is located at the highest point of the Antarctic ice sheet with an altitude of 4,087 meters. They will conduct scientific investigations in glaciology, astronomy, geology and geophysics. Meanwhile, nine members will go to the Grove Mountains with an average altitude of more than 2,000 meters. Geological surveys, ice core drilling and meteorite search will be carried out there.

Scientific exploration is one of the two major tasks in the 40th Antarctic expedition. The other is to construct the new station located in the coastal area of the Ross Sea, which will be China's fifth scientific research station in the Antarctic after the Great Wall, Zhongshan, Kunlun and Taishan stations.

The hoisting of the first of the six longest steel columns of the station's main structure was completed on Saturday, marking the start of the construction of the new station's main structure.

The Zhongshan Station received the expedition supplies on Saturday, fulfilling the first large-scale operation of this expedition.

More than 1,550 tonnes of expedition materials were unloaded after 16 days of operation, overcoming adverse factors such as the cracking and melting of sea ice and severe weather effects like snow, wind and fog.

Organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Antarctic expedition is supported for the first time by three vessels, namely the two polar icebreakers Xuelong and Xuelong-2, and a cargo ship named Tianhui.

Xuelong is heading for the Great Wall Station for the unloading operation and research missions, Xuelong-2 is on its way to the Lyttelton Port in New Zealand, and the vessel Tianhui is unloading construction materials at the new station site.

International cooperation will be carried out in the frontier scientific research of the Antarctic and in logistics support.