The 10th National Antarctic Science Expedition (TAE X), carried out by TÜBİTAK Polar Research Institute (KARE) under the auspices of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey and the Ministry of Industry and Technology, was successfully completed. Making a statement on his social media account, Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır noted that 15 research projects were realized during the expedition.

Minister Kacır used the following expressions in his post:

“Our 10th National Antarctic Science Expedition was successfully completed. Our scientists carried out 15 research projects in more than a month in the harsh conditions of Antarctica. We will continue to increase the scientific capacity of our country and offer solutions to global problems facing humanity with our polar research expeditions, which we carry out under the auspices of our President and under the coordination of TÜBİTAK Polar Research Institute. Our goal is to establish a permanent Turkish Science Research Base in Antarctica and to obtain “Consultant Country” status within the Antarctic Treaty System.

Within the scope of the expedition, a team of 17 people, including 16 Turkish and 1 Bulgarian researcher, carried out field studies for TÜBİTAK Polar 1001 projects. During the expedition, the annual data of the low frequency (VLF) measurement station established jointly with the USA were collected, and the maintenance/upkeep of the Turkish Scientific Research Camp on Horseshoe Island was carried out. In addition, long-term monitoring studies were carried out, maintenance of our GNSS stations was carried out and nautical mapping studies of Horseshoe Island and its surroundings continued.

This year, our scientists were accompanied by three high school students from Aydın and Ankara who won the TEKNOFEST Polar Research Project Competition.