19:51 14.07.2026
A first-of-its-kind ice maneuver: North Pole-42 completes Arctic mission
The North Pole-42 station
© Press Service of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
The drifting research station North Pole-42 has officially concluded its Arctic deployment. Over the course of 21 months, the expedition covered more than 6,500 kilometers, carried by the drifting ice. According to the press service of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the team executed an unprecedented maneuver in late September 2025, altering their drift trajectory and, by October, reaching a record latitude that brought them within just 50 kilometers of the geographic North Pole. This marked the first time such a feat has been accomplished in the history of Russian drifting stations.
“None of the previous drifting expeditions, which were entirely at the mercy of the ice and currents, could have pulled off a maneuver like this,” said Alexander Makarov, Director of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute. “This represents a fundamentally new level of freedom in scientific planning.”
Throughout the mission, scientists carried out over 50 distinct types of research across the atmosphere–ice–ocean system. The comprehensive scientific program encompassed atmospheric, oceanographic, hydrochemical, hydrobiological, ice, geophysical, geological, and hydroacoustic observations.
“The Arctic remains a key region for studying global climate processes," noted Alexander Kozlov, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment. “The North Pole-42 expedition has yielded unique data from areas that have rarely been accessible for observation. Research of this kind is of strategic importance for science, environmental monitoring, and long-term planning for Russia’s Arctic zone.”
The research vessel North Pole, accompanied by the nuclear-powered icebreaker Arktika, has since navigated out of heavy ice into open water and is now en route to Murmansk. From there, the polar explorers will be flown to St. Petersburg. The North Pole-42 expedition carries forward the legacy of Russian drifting stations, a tradition that began in 1937 with the historic North Pole-1 expedition.
