Antarctica - The new winter complex at Russia's Vostok Station in Antarctica has been officially launched. The scientific project associated with this facility was prepared 18 years in advance.
The project focuses on studying climate change, exploring ancient ice that is 1.5 million years old, and investigating Lake Vostok, located approximately four kilometers beneath the Antarctic ice sheet. The station's tasks include monitoring solar activity and other cosmic changes that affect both technology and human life, as well as examining Antarctica's role in global climate change. Research on the climate, Earth's magnetic field, and conducting meteorological and geophysical observations will take place here.
Vostok Station is the only Russian station situated in the center of the continent. The newly constructed winter complex is the first modern building in the world erected at the South Pole.
Currently, five Russian scientific stations operate year-round on the continent, with Vostok being the southernmost. In this context, the term 'southern' carries a different connotation than in northern latitudes. The Antarctic south is harsh, with extreme conditions; during August, the coldest month, temperatures can plummet to minus 80 degrees Celsius, and Konstantin Zaitsev, Vice President of the Association of Polar Researchers, notes that temperatures have even dropped to minus 89 degrees Celsius. He describes Vostok as the most challenging research station among all Arctic and Antarctic facilities due to its working conditions.
During the Antarctic winter, an average of 110 polar researchers and specialists work at the station, with this number doubling in the summer when temperatures range from minus 25 to minus 40 degrees Celsius. The new complex can accommodate 15 to 17 people during the winter, and around 35 to 37 during the summer, providing normal working conditions. Seasonal scientists arrive to work during the summer period, alongside technical experts who repair and modify equipment before departing.
The new complex consists of a modular structure with five blocks, covering more than 3,000 square meters. Two residential blocks house laboratories, living quarters for scientists, a kitchen, dining area, recreation space, gym, sauna, and a medical center with an operating room.
The engineering blocks contain boilers, storage facilities, and electrical panels with generators. The fifth block includes a garage, workshop, and snow melting facility.
The complex features robust insulation, with mineral wool up to 95 centimeters thick, and a façade made from composite panels resistant to extreme cold. All necessary equipment, including heating, ventilation, power supply, and water systems, is of Russian manufacture.
Unlike earlier buildings, which are partially or completely buried in snow, the new station is situated on a hill and is supported by special structures that allow wind to pass without accumulating snow. Zaitsev explains that this design protects the station from being snowed in.
The winter complex at Vostok Station is the first modern building globally constructed at the South Pole. Russia currently has the largest presence in Antarctica, comprising ten stations—five operational year-round and five seasonal. Most of these are located along the coast, while Vostok is the only station positioned centrally, approximately 1,500 kilometers from the coast.
Access to the station is via specialized tracked vehicles designed for navigating inaccessible, ice-covered terrain. These vehicles transport equipment, fuel, food, and scientific instruments. Reaching the station is a significant challenge; travel from Saint Petersburg to the Antarctic coast is by ship, with scientists returning either by ship or plane, depending on the station's location.
According to Zaitsev, scientists typically spend one year at the station before a rotation occurs, with old personnel departing and new ones arriving. There are no indigenous residents in Antarctica; the local inhabitants are penguins. Thus, scientists interact only with a few colleagues, cooks, and medical staff during their limited time on the station.
Nevertheless, internet access is available at Vostok Station.