Greece will send scientists to Antarctica for the 1st time!

They will travel with the research vessel "Saints Cyril and Methodius" and will be accommodated at the Bulgarian base.

Greece will send scientists to Antarctica for the first time, who will participate in the next Bulgarian expedition and travel with the research vessel "Saints Cyril and Methodius," said the president of the non-governmental Hellenic Polar Zones Society, Simeon Konstantinidis.

The chairman of the NGO participated in the International Polar Conference on cooperation between the Balkan countries in the polar regions within the framework of the European programs EUPolarNet-2 and POLARIN, held in Aheloy, Bulgaria.

"This is a big step for us towards the South Pole because it is the first time Greece will send its own scientists. I would like to take the opportunity to thank Professor Hristo Pibirev for offering us this possibility and opening the doors of the Bulgarian base in Antarctica for us," emphasised Konstantinidis.

He added that the organisation's plans also include constructing a weather station on the frozen continent, which will probably happen next year.

One of the scientists who will travel to Antarctica this year on the Bulgarian ship is a professor at the University of Athens and deals with astrophysics. Konstantinidis explained that he would make astronomical observations and measurements.

From the Greek side, the second scientific participant will be a professor from the Technical University of Crete, who will conduct psychological tests for people living in isolated places to check if they suffer from depression.

Another experiment will be to use videos explicitly created to help people in isolated environments feel better. During the stay, the researcher will also use a technique to measure the magnetism that people emit when thee experience different emotions.

Konstantinidis added that during the conference, he learned how much Bulgaria achieved and that it is many steps ahead in Antarctic science.

"We would like to follow Bulgaria's footsteps and learn from its experience," said the president of the Hellenic Polar Zones Society.

He added that he aspires to visit the frozen continent in the future, but for him, it is now more important to coordinate the visit of Greek scientists there.

"When they return, we will learn from their experience and be able to organise more expeditions. We hope to be able to develop this cooperation between the Balkan countries and Europe and be able to send scientists from Greece every year," said Konstantinidis.

"We will be able to acquire know-how, and in the future, we can build our own base or cooperate with other countries like Bulgaria and share the scientific base, instruments, and equipment. We will find a way, but the good thing is that we are neighbours, we are close, and we can keep in touch more easily," he added.

In addition to members of the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute, representatives of the German Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, the Spanish Polar Committee, and the Polish Centre for Polar Studies attended the two-day conference, as well as representatives of Balkan countries such as Turkey, Romania, Greece, and Cyprus.

Part of the program was the presentation of the English version of the May issue of LIK magazine, which is dedicated to Bulgarian scientific achievements in Antarctica.

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