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Fyodor Konyukhov sets new world record spending almost 21 days near North Pole

The drift began on July 9 in the Western Hemisphere

MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/. Traveler Fyodor Konyukhov completed work at the world's first single drifting station near the North Pole and boarded the 50 Let Pobedy nuclear-powered icebreaker. He set a new world record in a single stay on an ice floe near the North Pole, the Fyodor Konyukhov International Travel Center's press service told TASS.

"Fyodor Konyukhov has spent 20 days, 22 hours and 45 minutes alone on an ice floe, where he covered 239 km (149 miles). At the end of the drift, the distance from the geographical North Pole point was 95.65 km, the maximum distance made 113.66 km (on July 23 at 6:00pm Moscow time). Thus, Fyodor Konyukhov has set a world record of being at a single research polar station near the North Pole in terms of duration and covered distance," the press service said.

The drift began on July 9 in the Western Hemisphere. On July 18, the traveler crossed the prime meridian to return to the Eastern Hemisphere. On July 23, Konyukhov's polar station reached the southernmost point on the route: 88 degrees, 58 minutes north latitude and 28 degrees, 50 minutes east longitude, after which, with the south and south-easterly winds, he began the drift's third, final, stage in the north-easterly direction.

During the drift, he was using a digital seismograph of the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology (the Russian Academy of Sciences) to make uniquely clean records of seismic activity on the Arctic Ocean floor. The data will be studied at the laboratory of underwater research and testing technology.

"The drift continued in harsh weather conditions of the high-latitude Arctic. The traveler has experienced thick fogs, low clouds with sleet, hail and icy rain. The wind gusts reached 60 km/h. Typically for the current season, the sun has came out only a few times for just a few hours," the press service concluded.

About the station

The Mobiba Company's designers led by Russia's Honored Inventor Alexey Sychev used Rosnar R-536 tent to design Fyodor Konyukhov's SP-24 single polar station.

In 2021, the world's first single drifting polar station was created on the basis of the Rosnar R-436 tent project and was upgraded in line with Konyukhov's suggestions.

In creating the tents, the developer considered the experience of various polar expeditions and the operation of Soviet-time polar tents.

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