ST. PETERSBURG, May 3. /TASS/. The North Pole - 42 Expedition is planned to be sent to the Arctic in autumn, the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute's Director Alexander Makarov told reporters. It will be the second expedition drifting on an ice floe in the recent 10 years, as the first one, which started in 2022, ended on Thursday.

"The expedition, that is coming to an end, has brought an extensive amount of scientific data, which our scientists have been analyzing already. In August, the vessel will be ready for the next voyage. The North Pole - 42 drifting station will begin working this autumn," he said.

The North Pole ice-resistant self-propelled platform once again will be the expedition's base. Its first voyage to the Arctic began in 2022. The unique vessel was built specially for expeditions in the Arctic Ocean's drifting ice. The vessel may be moored to a drifting ice floe to move with it in the sea current. The platform's first drift continued for almost a year and a half. As soon as the vessel returns to port, it will undergo preparations for a new mission.

The North Pole - 41 Expedition continues the Soviet program of complex drifting research missions in the Arctic's high latitudes. The world's first polar research drifting Arctic station North Pole (North Pole - 1) began operation on May 21, 1937. As many as 40 such expeditions have been organized.

In 2013, a team of scientists was evacuated from the North Pole - 40 drifting station, and the program was suspended for almost ten years. In September, 2022, the program resumed at a new technological level - the expedition is supported by the North Pole ice-resistant platform.

The world's first ice-resistant self-propelled North Pole platform is designed for year-round expeditions in the Arctic Ocean's northern latitudes. It does not require icebreakers to sail to the designated area, and it can drift for up to two years and sail back to the port. The vessel takes on board 14 crew and 34 researchers. The platform is equipped with an on-board scientific complex of 15 laboratories, a mobile field camp for accommodation on ice floes.