Polarquest2018 is a scientific expedition into the Arctic Sea aboard the self-sufficient sailboat Nanuq (polar bear in the Inuit language). The expedition aims to circumnavigate the Svalbard Archipelago (made possible by the melting of the Arctic ice) with objectives ranging from the measurement of cosmic rays at polar latitudes to the study of the impact of microplastics on the Arctic Ocean and, not least, the search for the wreckage of the missing airship ITALIA crashed in 1928.
Nanuq sailed on July 21st from Isafjordur (Iceland), on August 1st she reached Longyearbyen (administrative capital of the Svalbard Archipelago) and on August 5th she will reach Ny-Aalesund, the scientific “village” where is based the Italian CNR research station "Dirigibile ITALIA", where the commemorative ceremony of the 90th anniversary of the polar expedition of Umberto Nobile will take place.
The CRS4, which is participating in the expedition with a small delegation, has developed the website and contributed to the geolocation of the possible site of sinking of the wreckage of the airship.
Expedition website: http://www.polarquest2018.org/