Youth station Antarctica. His Majesty the Case. Molodezhnaya station. Vostok: the most famous Soviet station
Molodezhnaya station.. 
Mount Vechernyaya and the houses of the airfield builders. The runway is unique. Using special road rollers, the builders rolled the snow and formed a solid layer of snow, allowing the aircraft to land on a wheeled chassis.
Finding a suitable location for an airfield in Antarctica is extremely difficult. On the one hand, it needs to be built closer to the scientific station in order to ensure reliable terrestrial communications. On the other hand, you should not move away from the shore where sea ships approach. I would like the natural relief to some extent correspond to the term “airfield”. The strip was made on the glacier covered with snow, and the glacier is constantly sliding into the ocean and every year it had to be moved back to the dome. The strip on which they landed in the first flight slid 120 meters towards the ocean.
“We didn’t need the flight from Moscow to Antarctica to set any records,” said Deputy Minister of Civil Aviation of the USSR B.D. Grubiy, technical director of the flight. - We were given the task: to establish clear operational communication with the sixth continent, so that the delivery of polar explorers to Antarctica would take two or three days instead of several months of tedious sailing...
All that remained was to select a suitable airliner with an acceptable flight range and take-off weight within 70 tons. The serial turboprop Il-18D met these requirements, and the first crew commander to land at the snowy airfield of Molodezhnaya station was Anatoly Nikolaevich Denisov from Moscow Vnukovo Airport. And finally there was a “trifle” left - to build an airfield on the ice dome of a distant continent, the strip of which would not be crushed under the wheels of the Ilyushin.
The famous pillar.
It was to conduct scientific experiments that our Il-18D flew to the South Geographic Pole. Before departure, scientists arrived and began installing the instruments. Where can I get food? Where can I connect to the antenna? We wanted to film the area with an Il-18D, and on the way back it turned out that the completed filming was equal to filming on an Il-14 in half a year.
What do these episodes say? Firstly, about the extremely important role of aviation in the work of Antarctic expeditions. Winged vehicles deliver the necessary cargo to winterers, conduct ice reconnaissance in coastal areas, and conduct aerial photography and aeromagnetic surveys from the aircraft. Aviation helps geologists, geophysicists, and glaciologists. The list of these works is, of course, not complete.
This flight, unprecedented in the history of the development of the sixth continent, was organized by the USSR State Committee for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Control, which is in charge of Soviet Antarctic stations, and the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Taking into account all the flights in the skies of Antarctica and the return to their homeland, the total flight time of the Ilyushin during the expedition was 45 thousand 660 km
L.I.Dubrovin
Digitization and proofreading: Igor V. Kapustin
Antarctic Meteorological Center Youth.
The main base of the Soviet Antarctic Expedition is located in the western part of Enderby Land, on the southern shore of the Alasheyev Bay of the Cosmonaut Sea.
The scientific village is located in a small coastal oasis (Tala Hills), 0.5 - 0.6 km from the coast. The surrounding area is a hilly area with ridges of ice- and snow-free rocks separated by snow-covered depressions.
To the south of the village, spread over an area of about 1 km, the height of the surface of the ice sheet increases and at a distance of 10 km from the seashore it is about 500 m.
There are many lakes on the territory of the oasis. One of them, Lagernoye, serves as the source of water supply for the village. 
The climate in the Molodezhnaya area, as in the Mirny area, is characterized by negative air temperatures throughout almost the entire year, as well as frequent strong winds and hurricanes. The average annual air temperature is 11 "C, the minimum is 42" C, the maximum is 9 "C.
The average annual wind speed is 10 m/s, the maximum is more than 40 m/s. The polar night lasts for half a month, from June 15 to 30, and the polar day lasts almost a month and a half, from early December to mid-January.
For most of the year, the Cosmonaut Sea in the Molodezhnaya area is covered with ice. By the end of winter, the edge of the fast ice is almost 100 km from the coast.
There are usually a lot of icebergs in the station area. 
Soviet researchers first saw the harsh shores of Enderby Land in 1957, when the expeditionary vessel of the 2nd SAE diesel-electric ship appeared here. Under the leadership of O. A. Borshchevsky, route aerial photography and hydrographic sounding were carried out from the ship.
As a result of these works, such objects as Alasheeva Bay, Khmary Bay, Sakellari Peninsula, Lena Bay, etc. appeared on the map. Later, the peninsula located to the west of Frith Bay, at the northern end of which the Sviridov Hills, clearly visible from Molodezhnaya, are blackened, was named after Borshchevsky.
On March 6, 1961, on the way from Lazarev station to Mirny, a diesel-electric ship entered Alasheyev Bay. A motor boat was lowered, and a group of participants from the 5th and 6th SAE, led by the head of the 5th SAE, E.S. Korotkevich, headed to the shore to inspect the place planned for 
construction of a new Soviet scientific Antarctic station. The reconnaissance team was convinced that in this area there were all the necessary conditions for the creation of a new station, i.e., ice-free areas for placing a scientific village, a low ice barrier suitable for mooring and unloading expedition ships, fresh water lakes for water supply, flat sites for equipping runways and conditions for safe passage into the interior of the mainland for future sledge-caterpillar trains.
On January 12, 1962, a diesel-electric ship appeared again in Alasheev Bay. A geological and geodetic detachment headed by L.V. Klimov landed ashore, as well as a small group led by the experienced polar explorer V.S. Sidorov, which began construction of the station.
On February 23, the state flag of the Soviet Union was raised over the new station. 
The first did everything possible to prepare for the coming winter, and expressed an ardent desire to stay for the winter and continue scientific observations, but the new station was still poorly equipped and supplied and had to be temporarily mothballed.
On March 21, geologists and V.S. Sidorov’s group went home.
That year, seasonal detachments of the 7th SAE carried out aerial photography, geological, gravimetric, astronomical-geodetic and hydrographic work in the area of the new station. Based on materials from aerial photography and ground-based astronomical, geodetic and hydrographic work, new maps were compiled, on which Mount Gorodkova, Cape Garnet, Dubinin Island and other geographical objects appeared.
On January 14, 1963, the station was reactivated and systematic year-round scientific observations began to be carried out at it. In 1964, intensive construction began at the Molodezhnaya station, since it was subsequently supposed to replace the Mirny Observatory. 
The station gradually expanded, was equipped with the latest scientific research facilities, and was used as a base for field route work in the adjacent and continental regions of East Antarctica.
At the beginning of 1966, construction of an oil depot was completed on Molodezhnaya. On March 3, a tanker arrived here. The fuel he delivered was poured into the station's tanks. Since then, it has been supplied with fuel by tankers.
On December 24, 1970, Molodezhnaya became the Soviet Antarctic meteorological center - the main base of Soviet Antarctic expeditions. Starting from the 16th SAE, which was headed by I.G. Petrov, the leaders of wintering expeditions began to be the heads of the Molodezhnaya AMC. In the 70s, the Molodezhnaya AMC became the largest settlement and research center on the entire Antarctic continent. The structures of the main base of the SAE are spread over an area of more than 1 km~.
In the central part of the village, located on a relatively flat rocky area between Lake Lagerny and Opasnaya Bay, there is M, Somova Street. The residential buildings, a mess hall, a computer center building, a bathhouse-laundry and other service premises located on this street are placed on a pile foundation. 
To the south, on the top of the Ozernaya hill, rising above the village, there is a rocket sounding station for the atmosphere, and on the high steep shore of Lake Lagernoye there is a receiving radio station. In the northern part of the village, at a distance of about 0.5 km from Somova Street, there is a transmitting radio station, a garage with a workshop and a power station with four diesel generators with a capacity of 320 kW each.
At Mount Vechernyaya, fifteen kilometers east of Molodezhnaya, a remote base was built to house personnel servicing the airfield. Ground transport on Molodezhnaya includes tracked tractors and all-terrain vehicles, tractors, bulldozers, as well as machines and equipment for leveling the snow surface and other mechanisms.
At the main base of Soviet Antarctic expeditions, oceanological, glaciological and biological observations are carried out, as well as a full range of aerometeorological and geophysical observations (in particular, rocket sounding of meteor trails, etc.), and medical research is conducted.
In order to identify the conditions for the creation of snow airfields and artificial ice piers, research in engineering glaciology has been widely carried out. In addition, the collection and primary processing of meteorological information coming from all Soviet Antarctic stations, and operational scientific maintenance of ships and aircraft operating in Antarctica are carried out here.
Photos from the personal archive of Yuri Babaev, a participant of the 17th SAE at Molodezhnaya station:
(Sent by son - Babaev Valery)
The article contains information about the polar stations of Antarctica. Describes the living and working conditions of polar explorers. Contains historical information that is associated with the most important moments in the history of the development of the continent.
Scientific stations in Antarctica
The bulk of the polar stations are located in the coastal region of the continent, and only three of them are located inland:
- American base "Amundsen-Scott";
- Franco-Italian Concordia base;
- Russian base "Vostok".
Rice. 1. Russian base "Vostok".
The area where the Vostok station is located is considered particularly harsh from a weather and climatic point of view.
There is an interesting story connected with the opening of the Vostok station in Antarctica. In the early 50s of the last century, at a meeting in France, tasks were set regarding the development of the coldest continent. A delegate from the USSR was late for the meeting due to difficulties with documents. The site for the station at the very South Geographic Pole was transferred to the Americans.
Vostok station was founded in 1957.
The USSR got the South Geomagnetic Pole and the Pole of Inaccessibility.
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After half a century, scientists managed to obtain a sample of water from an underground lake, which was located under the station itself.
The lake of the same name is the fifth largest in terms of fresh water volume. It is located under the ice at a depth of almost 4000 m.
History in names and numbers
The Molodezhnaya station bears the proud name of the “former capital” of Antarctica.
The station was the largest and most ambitious building of this type. The base once housed about seventy buildings that replicated the infrastructure of the streets. It housed: residential buildings, scientific and research laboratories, as well as an oil depot and an airfield that was capable of receiving large aircraft such as IL-76.
The station has been fully operational since 1962. Its territory could simultaneously accommodate up to one and a half hundred people. But in the late 90s (in 1999) the Russian tricolor was lowered. In 2006, the base, which operated year-round, became a seasonal facility.
The Mirny base got its name from the boat, the ship of the Bellingshausen and Lazarev expedition. The first observatory was opened at the base.
In total, there are 5 Russian bases in Antarctica that operate constantly:
- "Bellingshausen"
- "Peaceful",
- "East",
- "Progress",
- "Novolazarevskaya".
Scientists study the atmosphere, weather, ice, and movement of the earth's crust. Quite comfortable conditions have been created at all bases. The closest neighbors of the scientists from the Novolazarevskaya base are specialists from India.
Bellingshausen is the only polar station in Antarctica that has an Orthodox church on its territory.
Rice. 2. Temple at Bellingshausen station.
Today, the main Russian polar station is Progress. Initially it was opened as a seasonal one (in 1989), but later received permanent status.
Recently, the base has taken over the bulk of the functions that were once performed by Mirny and Molodezhnaya. The station is an administrative, scientific and logistics point of Russian Antarctica.
Rice. 3. Station “Progress.
"Akademik Vernadsky" is a former British station that was purchased by Ukraine for a nominal fee of 1 pound sterling.
What have we learned?
We found out which of the polar stations is the largest. We found out how many stations in Russia operate continuously. We received information about which base continues to operate in the most severe and severe weather conditions. We found out which of the research facilities are located at the greatest distance from others. We found out what kind of scientific research researchers are carrying out on the coldest of continents.
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January 14, 2003 marks the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Soviet scientific station “Molodezhnaya” on the coast of East Antarctica (Enderby Land), which for many years was considered the “capital” of Soviet, and after 1991, Russian polar explorers.
The station had more than 70 different structures / incl. residential buildings, scientific laboratories and pavilions, a powerful radio center, a power plant, a rocket sounding station, warehouses, a fuel depot, located on ice-free soil in a small coastal Antarctic oasis on the shores of Alasheev Bay (the Sea of Cosmonauts).
The range of work carried out at the main base of Russian science on the sixth continent was very extensive and included ice reconnaissance and mapping of ice conditions, coastal snow and ice observations, meteorological monitoring and much more.
Despite the fact that Molodezhnaya is located in relatively mild climatic conditions (the minimum temperature is minus 15 degrees Celsius, the maximum is plus seven, in contrast to the Vostok station, where on July 21, 1983, a record low temperature on the Earth’s surface was recorded - minus 89.2 degrees/, not everyone can withstand them. Thus, according to many expedition participants, “in winter the wind blows so much that it is simply impossible to stand on your feet.” In addition, it was found that even in such a gentle temperature regime, it is contraindicated for a person to live in Antarctica for more than five years due to the severe weakening of the body’s immune system.
Many records and achievements are associated with the name of the station. Thus, on February 10, 1980, an air flight took place on the Moscow-Molodezhnaya route on an Il-18D aircraft: the crews of E. Bunchin and A. Denisov covered a distance of 16 thousand kilometers in 26 flight hours.
The 44th scientific expedition led by Leonid Sergeevich Alekseev to Molodezhnaya was the last: on July 9, 1999, the Russian flag at the station was lowered at half-mast, after which the wintering crew departed on the ship Akademik Fedorov, and the station itself was mothballed. According to data at the end of 2001, only four stations and two bases belonging to the Russian Federation remained in Antarctica, while, for example, the United States had three stationary bases and 18 seasonal ones.
Currently, the "capital" of Russian polar researchers is the Progress station, but this does not solve the large number of problems associated with the study of the southern continent. The “conservation” of “Molodezhnaya” alone included, in particular, the dismantling of equipment and its delivery to a new location, storage of housing and communication systems, as well as disposal / in accordance with the international Convention on the Protection of Habitats and the Protocol on Environmental Protection / various types of garbage and waste.
Thus, one of the operating Russian stations, Bellingshausen, switched to seasonal operation; In total, about 100 people remain at the three remaining stations in the winter.
There are also a number of technical issues that hinder the optimal conduct of scientific research and other work, such as, for example, the replacement of outdated equipment with modern and environmentally friendly ones and the modernization and replenishment of the aviation fleet (Russian polar aviation consists mainly of light aircraft).
Nikolay, RW6ACM will be active from Molodezhnaya station, IOTA AN - 016, Antarctica, from December 2017 to February 2018, as RI1ANA.
He will operate on the HF bands CW, SSB, and digital modes.
Latest DX spots RI1ANA
QSL via RN1ON, ClubLog OQRS, LOTW.
Previous activity:
Oleg, ZS1OIN will be active from Molodezhnaya station, Antarctica from December 2016 to April 1, 2017 as RI1ANA.
It will operate on the bands 160 - 10m.
If possible, he will operate as UA3HK/MM, from the research vessel Akademik Fedorov, on the way from Cape Town to Molodezhnaya station.
QSL via ZS1OIN.
Address for QSL direct:
Oleg Neruchev, P.O.Box 808, West Beach Vill, 7433, Cape Town, South Africa.
Molodezhnaya station: life in the snow-white desert
The Molodezhnaya station was opened in 1962 and for a long time was considered the capital of the Russian Antarctic. It is located in the western part of Enderby Land, on the southern coast of the Cosmonaut Sea. In 1999, the Russian flag was lowered here: the station was not used for the next few years. After the decision was made to “re-open it” in 2006, it became a seasonal base for general research by scientists from Russia and Belarus.
Lost in the ice
Molodezhnaya station is an entire scientific town on an area of 1 hectare, located on a hill 600 m from the ocean coast. It has its own source of water supply: Lake Lagernoye.
All buildings here were erected on stilts, because in Antarctica the most serious test is not severe frosts, but the wind. This design of the buildings ensured that all air flows would pass from below and would not threaten the buildings in any way. Although the very first houses here tried to be built differently: they dug them into the ground. All this ended with the fact that during bad weather the buildings were covered with snow and covered with a crust of ice of such proportions that it was necessary to make an exit through the roof. When the polar explorers got tired of regularly overcoming obstacles, it was decided to build houses on stilts.
RI1ANO. Molodezhnaya Station, Antarctica. QSL.
"Snowy" town
The idea to build a modern Soviet station in Antarctica was born during an expedition to Enderby Land by a research group led by Borshchevsky in 1957. In 1961, the participants of the second expedition had already landed on shore to make sure that there were conditions for placing the station. In January 1962, construction of Molodezhnaya began. After a month and a half, all the work was completed, and the young polar explorers expressed a desire to stay here for the winter. But since the equipment at the station was still difficult, the decision was postponed for a year. In 1963, the first expedition of scientists settled here, who were to conduct year-round observations.
“Youth” quickly became upset. An oil depot was erected where fuel from incoming tankers was discharged. In the 70s of the 20th century, the station became the largest “populated” point in Antarctica. The central part of the town even had its own streets with names. Not only residential buildings, but also economic structures were located here. In total, there were 70 buildings, a radio center, warehouses, and a power plant.
Dangers of Antarctic Weather
In the area where the Molodezhnaya station is located, weather conditions are considered the mildest in Antarctica. There are always frosts and strong winds here. The lowest recorded temperature readings were -42 C, and the highest +9 C. On average, in July-August there are 20-degree frosts here, and in the summer the air can warm up to zero. Thanks to the proximity of the ocean, the climate is much milder than, for example, at the “harshest” operating station “Vostok”, where frosts sometimes reach 90 C with a regular lack of carbon dioxide in the air.
But the danger of the Antarctic climate lies in stormy winds. On Molodezhnaya they reach 70 ms. This is a hurricane capable of demolishing ten-ton structures. If the wind is also accompanied by a snowstorm, then experienced polar explorers claim “unforgettable impressions”: you can’t even see the light of the searchlights, and there is a constant feeling that you are in milk. In such weather conditions, the researcher is prohibited from leaving the premises alone. You can only go out in pairs or threes, holding tightly to each other and to the ropes, on stakes driven “tightly”.
The harsh land of penguins and polar explorers
Even in relatively mild climatic conditions for Antarctica, it is believed that the human body is forced to endure severe stress. Therefore, it is not recommended to stay at the station for more than one season. And in former times, it happened that expeditions here were delayed for one and a half to two years. Then doctors found that staying in the Antarctic ice zone for five years can completely destroy the body’s defenses. In addition, not everyone can cope with the psychological stress: when you see monotonous landscapes for many weeks and endure a month and a half of polar day, then by the end of the expedition the sense of danger is dulled. And this is fraught with tragedy.
Researchers at Molodezhnaya entertain themselves as best they can. They even organize football competitions. And the spectators are... penguins. These noble birds, regularly fed with fish from expedition stocks, feel quite at ease next to scientists, not even hesitating to steal what is “bad.”
Every year, when arriving at the station for its seasonal re-opening, polar explorers discover that some of the buildings have been damaged by winter hurricanes. Therefore, first, work is carried out to restore and improve the territory. During seasonal research today, 15-20 research scientists from the Russian Federation and Belarus are staying at Molodezhnaya.
