Antarctica is key to understanding our world because it is so deeply interconnected with the Earth’s climate and oceans. Geological samples from this frozen continent provide insight into changes in climate over the past million years, allowing scientists to study global warming in a historical context. Extensive research has been carried out, first by several Soviet and then Russian institutions, and the country now maintains five permanent southern polar stations. The trouble is that, despite advances in modern transport, the only reliable means of reaching the world’s southernmost continent is by sea. This time, the flagship of Russia’s polar research fleet is on a mission to visit two year-round Antarctic stations, Progress and Novolazarevskaya.
