Barcelona (Spain), April 24 (EFE). A Spanish scientific expedition of six people will travel 1,000 kilometers across the Greenland glacier on a wind-driven sled using kites, collecting data, ice and air samples at various locations. Levels to see the evolution of climate change.
Five of the expeditions will leave on Monday from Barcelona (northeast) towards Copenhagen to join Ramon Laramende, who is leading the expedition and has already traveled to Greenland, and the journey begins on May 5, which will last three to four weeks depending on weather conditions.
As explained by chemist and publisher Lucia Hurtal, chief scientist for the SOS ARCTIC 2022 expedition, the group will leave near the town of Narsarsuaq (Greenland) and describe a pioneering journey across the glacier of the Danish island aboard. It is the “first zero-emission polar vehicle”, owned by the Wind Sled project promoted by Larramendi.
Hurtal will be responsible for coordinating scientific activities, one of which is from the Autonomous University of Madrid which is leading the Microairpolar-2 project, to study how microorganisms spread in the air, how they are geographically distributed and their ability to survive. .
This experiment is designed to see what is transported as pure and remote as the polar ice caps, to see if there is a common community of microorganisms in the air that can reach anywhere on Earth and how the pole is melting. Ice caps that you can adjust.
On the other hand, the Astrobiology Center in Spain, affiliated with NASA, will test scientific infrastructures aimed at discovering life on planetary exploration missions, with the icy environment of Greenland considered terrain similar to the permafrost of northern Mars or the icy moons of Enceladus and Europe. .
In addition, they plan to continue mastering the technical capabilities and scientific applications of the WindSled vehicle.
The expedition, which was promoted through the Polar Exploration Association, was sponsored by various entities and individuals
The pneumatic sled, a type of polar boat designed and developed by Larramendi since 1999, will serve as a mobile laboratory, which will also get all the power needed to keep research teams active through solar panels.
Although Wind Sled has already made eleven expeditions, this is the first time it will be occupied by six people, as the maximum number of passengers so far has been five, and it will also test for the first time a new large kite of 250 square meters.
The weight you will be hauling has also increased, from 1,900 to 2,200 kilograms.