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Snezhinka research station's construction to begin in early spring

It is reported that test operations of the station's first part are scheduled for 2024, and the station will be commissioned fully in 2025

MOSCOW, November 15. /TASS/. Construction of the Snezhinka (Snowflake) international Arctic station in the Yamalo-Nenets Region may begin in early 2023 after the state commission approves the project, Executive Director of the Institute of Arctic Technologies at MIPT (the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology) Yury Vasilyev said.

"The project's papers are ready, and we are at the stage of the state commission. <…> We hope for an approval early next year, and then the federation represented by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Ministry of Construction, in spring will choose a general contractor, and then works at the site will begin," he said during the Days of Arctic and Antarctic international forum in Moscow.

Test operations of the station's first part are scheduled for 2024, and the station will be commissioned fully in 2025, he said.

According to him, foreign counterparts have not quit the project officially, and the relations "are on hold." Russia has been drafting cooperation agreements with China, India and Brazil. "Arab counterparts are very interested," he added. "We expect their visits in two weeks."

Earlier, President of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology Dmitry Livanov said the Snezhinka (Snowflake) international Arctic station in the Yamalo-Nenets Region would be able to accommodate at a time up to 100 people, who will be able to work there year-round.

The Snezhinka international Arctic station is envisioned to become the world's first fully autonomous facility powered by renewable energy sources and hydrogen without any diesel fuel. The station will be comprised of several dome-shaped buildings connected via passages. If observed from above, the station will resemble a snowflake, hence the name. The objective is to conduct studies in nature-saving life support technologies, telecommunications, biotechnologies, aquaculture, new materials, and artificial intelligence solutions. At the Snezhinka station, world-class researchers will carry out joint work on the problems of ecology, climate changes, environmental pollution and the world ocean.

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