Position: 89 57' 18'' N 154 19' 37''E
Snow cover: 8 inches
Drift: 7 miles NW in 24 hours
Image transmitted by the Systems Engineering Society and SpaceQuest Ltd.
Despite our early setbacks, we reached the North Pole as
planned, aiming to focus attention on the Arctic environment,
which is being polluted by contaminants carried by wind, river,
and ocean currents form the south.
To raise awareness of such issues - as well as to share stories
about our adventures - with millions of schoolchildren in more
than a dozen countries, Takako Takano and Julie Hanson (right)
composed daily messages on our computer, and then transmitted
them to a polar orbiting satellite, which relayed them to a
ground station in Virginia. Within hours of being sent, the
messages were electronically zapped to classrooms worldwide.
Our team portrait (far right) was the first image transmitted
from the North Pole over the Internet. From left are Martin
Hignell, Julie, me, Takako, and Victor.
Students sent us lots of questions by satellite e-mail. Among
the most frequent: How do your dogs survive the cold? Do they
sleep in your tents? Our answer: No, they are happier outside.
Their inner layer of fur, which is as fine as goose down, keeps
them warm in subzero temperatures.
Click here
for additional images of the Artic expedition.
