Tech

Special planes sent to North Pole to rescue unnamed scientist

Published

8 years ago

June 18, 2016

Special planes sent to North Pole to rescue unnamed scientist

The National Science Foundation, which runs the research station, has been convinced to send an emergency plane to rescue an unnamed scientist who needs to be rescued, in the first South Pole rescue mission since 2003.

On June 14, after a day and a half of deliberation, they agreed: a plane departed from Calgary, Canada and will arrive in the middle of the largest desert on the planet after a five-day trip, as long as the weather holds up.

Then, it’ll turn around and bring the patient thousands of miles to a facility where they can get the treatment they need.

There have only been two winter rescue missions to the South Pole since 1957, one in 2001 and one in 2003.

The mission requires special planes that can withstand the frigid temperatures, “Twin Otters,” equipped with skis to land on the ice.

The National Science Foundation contracted a Calgary, Canada, based firm to complete the mission.

The reason is medical, but specifics have not been released due to privacy concerns, according to the Washington Post.

The South Pole sits thousands of miles from civilization, atop a 9,000-foot-thick ice sheet. It’s night there now, and will stay night until September. The temperatures average around negative 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now