Antarctica

• Sunday, January 18th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Descendents of Shackleton's team reach South Pole

  

  Three men with links to Sir Ernest Shackleton have reached the South Pole. Lt Col Henry Worsley, from Hereford, Will Gow, from Kent, and Henry Adams, from Suffolk, arrived on Sunday.

• Sunday, January 11th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Successful trial in Antarctica of super pressure balloon

  NASA and the National Science Foundation have successfully launched and demonstrated over Antarctica a newly designed super pressure balloon prototype that may enable a new era of high-altitude scientific research. The super-pressure balloon ultimately will carry large scientific experiments to the brink of space for 100 days or more.

• Sunday, January 11th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Mini-sub seeks clues to sea levels below Antarctic ice shelves

  An autonomous British yellow robot submarine has just set out on a mission which will see it plunge deep beneath Antarctic ice shelves to seek clues to world ocean level rises. The seven meter yellow sub will probe the underside of ice at the end of the Pine Island glacier, which is moving faster than any other in Antarctica.

• Saturday, January 10th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  “Explorer” rescue operation honors for Chilean Navy

  

  The Chilean Navy was presented with the International Maritime Organization, IMO, “Bravery at Sea” award for the prompt and effective rescue operation displayed during the emergency involving cruise vessel “Explorer”, which sank in Antarctica on November 22nd of 2007.

• Wednesday, January 7th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Monaco's Prince begins month long visit to Antarctica

  

  Monaco's Prince Albert II spent the first two days of his month-long global warming awareness expedition to Antarctica visiting different country bases in King George Island. On Wednesday he's scheduled to fly over the area and return to Punta Arenas in the extreme south of Chile.

• Wednesday, January 7th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Inquiry into Ice Patrol HMS Endurance accident

  

  The Portsmouth press carried a piece on the odyssey of Ice patrol HMS Endurance, now resting safely in the Falkland Islands, while a team of naval and civilian personnel is completing a full survey of the damage suffered.

• Wednesday, January 7th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Capsized yachtsman rescued by fellow competitor in C. Horn

  

  The French navigator whose yacht capsized in the extreme South Pacific during the Vendée Globe solo round-the-world race was rescued Tuesday night by his friend, a fellow competitor, after he was trapped inside the hull of his upturned boat in heavy seas for 16 hours

• Wednesday, December 31st 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  HMS Endurance is being towed to the Falklands

  The Royal Navy ice patrol HMS Endurance left Punta Arenas, in the extreme south of Chile, midday Tuesday for the Falkland Islands pulled by two tugs, according to reports from the local reports.

• Sunday, December 28th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  HMS Endurance KO; she will be towed back to Britain

  

  The Royal Navy ice patrol HMS Endurance, --and familiar sight in the Falkland Islands--, currently under repairs in Punta Arenas, extreme south of Chile after having suffered severe damages in the engine room, should be ready to be towed back to England sometime next week, according to the local press.

• Saturday, December 20th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  UK team en route to Antarctica for South Pole race

  British television presenter Ben Fogle and UK Olympic rowing champion James Cracknell are due to arrive in Antarctica ahead of a gruelling South Pole race. Cracknell, 36, Fogle, 35, and 28-year-old Dr Ed Coats - who beat 650 applicants for his place on the team - will spend the next fortnight acclimatising to the harsh weather and terrain.