MOON REGAN TRANSANTARCTIC EXPEDITION

Winston Wong | Imperial College London


THE EXPEDITION

The Moon Regan Transantarctic expedition will travel from the west coast of Antarctica at Patriot Hills, to the South Pole, retracing the steps of the famous Fuchs and Hillary crossing, and then head north to McMurdo through the Trans-Antarctic Mountain Range.  The expedition is expected to spend some 40 days on the ice and travel some 3,600 miles.

The expedition team will travel in three vehicles. The Winston Wong Bio-Inspired Ice Vehicle (BIV) will lead the way. Bio-fuelled, the BIV is an agile route-finder.. Two 6-wheeled Science Support Vehicles will operate as mobile laboratories and carry the team and the state-of-the-art monitoring equipment from Imperial College London.

It is almost 100 years since Norwegian Amundsen stood at the South Pole, just beating Scott’s ill-fated expedition. The fascination and challenge of crossing earth’s coldest, windiest and driest continent continues. The expedition will travel in the spirit of sheer adventure and human challenge, but is committed to raising environmental awareness and facilitating the gathering of new knowledge.

All the monitoring and measurement which the expedition will undertake has been developed or inspired by experts at Imperial College London. Engineers at the College will also help prepare and fine-tune the Ice Vehicle for its biggest challenge. A number of engineers, scientists and researchers are involved; many are leading the world’s thinking on bio-inspired technology.

“Working with leading bio-inspired scientists at Imperial College London has enabled the Moon Regan expedition team to realise a long-held dream. We’re very proud to be helping one of the world’s premier scientific institutions to monitor, measure and learn in the most remote and challenging of environments.” Andrew Regan

TIMELINE FOR THE EXPEDITION

16 November - Expedition departs from Patriot Hills

21 November - Arrival at Geographic South Pole

23 November - Depart Geographic South Pole

30 November - Arrive McMurdo

3 December - Begin return journey

10 December - Arrive at Geographic South Pole

11 December - Depart Geographic South Pole

15 December - Arrive at Patriot Hills

17 December - Team flies off the ice

STUDY THE REGION

Route

Antarctica can be one of the most hostile environments on earth, with caustic winds and ultra low temperatures in an utterly inert wilderness.

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Expedition Team Blog

The expedition aims to cross the entire continent of Antarctica - and back - using wheeled vehicles. There are four objectives: Aims of the Moon Regan Transantarctic Expedition 2010 • To complete a successful, safe crossing of the Antarctic, from Union Glacier to McMurdo via the Geographic South Pole • To see the Winston Wong Bio-Inspired Ice Vehicle at the South Pole - this is the first attempt to reach the South Pole by a bio-fuelled vehicle – and to prove the reliability of ground vehicles in this terrain • To bring back significant data for Imperial College London, the Expedition’s science partner • To share and disseminate the scientific outcomes of the Expedition, in partnership with Professor Winston Wong

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Expedition News

Expedition News

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Moon and Regan blog

Moon and Regan blog

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TRANSANTARCTIC EXPEDITION TEAM

A team of ordinary men with regular jobs is heading to the desolate continent at the bottom of the earth – driven by a desire to expand our understanding of the Antarctic.

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SPONSORS

The Expedition is pleased to acknowledge and thanks its partners and sponsors.

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