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First unmanned vehicles take flight in Antarctica

Written by Lautaro Vargas

Wednesday, 02 April 2008

Scientists from Cambridge-based polar research group, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have collaborated with the Technical University of Braunschweig (TUBS), Germany, to complete the first ever series of flights by autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in Antarctica.

A British Antarctic Survey scientist with an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle

It is the first time that unpiloted UAVs have been used in the Antarctic and the successful flights open up a major new technique for gathering scientific data in the harshest and remotest environment on Earth.

When the continent’s Weddell Sea freezes during the Antarctic winter, the bright white ice cover that is formed reflects heat and helps to cool the planet. However, sea ice is a major unknown feedback mechanism in the Earth’s climate system and scientists need to discover more about it and its sensitivity to climate change.

Using UAVs to gather this kind of data is seen as a major step forward, allowing scientists to study areas that are too costly to reach using ships or conventional aircraft.

“This is a huge technological achievement for BAS and TUBS,” said Dr Phil Anderson of BAS. “UAVs allow scientists to reach the parts others cannot reach – the future of much atmospheric research will be robotic.”

Following trials during the austral winter of 2007, the UAVs successfully completed 20 flights between October and December 2007, including four over the Weddell Sea. They were fitted with instruments to record the exchange of heat between the lower atmosphere and sea ice.

Other than take off and landing, when the UAVs are controlled by radio, the aircraft are completely autonomous, flying on their own according to a pre-programmed flight plan. Each flight lasts for 40 minutes, covering around 45 km and taking 100 measurements a second.

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sarah krall said:

	Just so you know: One of the mechanics on the South Pole traverse flew a small remote aircraft as they drove between McMurdo Station and Pole. He attached his pocket-sized digital camera to it and took pictures of the vehicles, their camps and the wonderful terrain. This was NOT NSF sanctioned, so was never reported in the news. The photos were fun to see though !
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