Reykjavík. Researchers from the Inter-University Department of Physics “M. Merlin” and from the section of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics of Bari will participate in the Polar Quest 2018 mission. This is a scientific and geographical exploration mission – starting on July 21st- aboard the eco-sustainable Polar Nanuq sailing boat around the Svalbard islands, in the heart of the Arctic, in search of the remains of the airship “Italia”, which tragically crashed at Svalbard on May 24, 1928 and never again found. Like the airship “Italia” ninety years ago, the Polar Nanuq will also have scientific instruments on board, in this case with three main objectives: to study the cosmic radiation at high latitudes, collect data on pollution from microplastics dispersed in the sea, and make geographic remote sensing by modeling 3D and data collection on fauna and coasts. The expedition on board of Nanuq will leave on July 21st from Isafjordur, in Northern Iceland, cross the Greenland Sea to reach Longyearbyen, the administrative capital of the Svalbard archipelago and the northernmost “capital” of the world, on August 1st. The ship will depart again on August 4th, arriving in Ny Aalesund on the 6th – a scientific settlement where the Italian research station of the CNR “Dirigibile Italia” is stationed – for a memorial ceremony in the presence of descendants of the airship ITALIA crew. On August 6th, the Nanuq will set sail for a complete circumnavigation of Svalbard and the mission will take place along the northern coasts of the island of Spitsbergen and the Northeast Foreland, to return to Longyearbyen on August 8th where it will sail again towards Tromso, in mainland Norway, where the mission is expected to end on September 4th. (9Colonne)
