Molodezhnaya Station
Encyclopedia
Molodyozhnaya (also known as "Molodezhnaya"), was a Soviet research station in East Antarctica
at 67°40′S 45°50′E.
, 500-600 meters inland from the coast on the southern shore of Alasheyev Bight
in the Cosmonaut Sea, at 42 meters above sea level. The area around the station is composed mostly of rocky ridges separated by snow-covered depressions and lakes. The sea near the station is covered in pack ice for much of the year, out to a distance of as much as 100 km at the end of winter. The rise to the summit of the massive East Antarctic Ice Sheet
(Dome A
) begins 1.5-2.0 km from the shore. Kheis Glacier is located in 15 km east of the station, and Campbell Glacier
is roughly the same distance to the southwest.
East Antarctica
East Antarctica, also called Greater Antarctica, constitutes the majority of the Antarctic continent, lying on the Indian Ocean side of the Transantarctic Mountains...
at 67°40′S 45°50′E.
Location
Molodyozhnaya Station is located in the Thala HillsThala Hills
Thala Hills is a low, rounded coastal hills between Freeth and Spooner Bays in Enderby Land. The hills were plotted from air photos taken by Antarctic Names Committee of Australia in 1956. Named by ANCA for the ship Thala Dan in which ANARE visited the hills in February 1961....
, 500-600 meters inland from the coast on the southern shore of Alasheyev Bight
Alasheyev Bight
Alasheyev Bight is a bight in the western part of the coast of Enderby Land. Kirkby Head is a sheer coastal outcrop on Tange Promontory, at the east side of the entrance to Alasheyev Bight. Alasheyev Bight was photographed from the air by Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions in 1956....
in the Cosmonaut Sea, at 42 meters above sea level. The area around the station is composed mostly of rocky ridges separated by snow-covered depressions and lakes. The sea near the station is covered in pack ice for much of the year, out to a distance of as much as 100 km at the end of winter. The rise to the summit of the massive East Antarctic Ice Sheet
East Antarctic Ice Sheet
The East Antarctic Ice Sheet is one of two large ice sheets in Antarctica, and the largest on the entire planet. The EAIS lies between 45° West and 168° East longitudinally....
(Dome A
Dome A
Dome A or Dome Argus is an Antarctican plateau located 1200 kilometres inland. It is thought to be one of the coldest naturally occurring places on Earth, with temperatures believed to get close to . It is the highest ice feature in Antarctica, comprising a dome or eminence of 4,093 meters...
) begins 1.5-2.0 km from the shore. Kheis Glacier is located in 15 km east of the station, and Campbell Glacier
Campbell Glacier
Campbell Glacier is a glacier, about long, originating near the south end of Mesa Range and draining southeast between the Deep Freeze Range and Mount Melbourne to discharge into north Terra Nova Bay. The lower end of the glacier was observed by the Northern Party, led by Lieutenant Victor L.A...
is roughly the same distance to the southwest.
Weather
The average temperature varies from −19 °C in the coldest months (July-August), to around 0 °C in January.History
- Opened in February 1962, the site was used as a launch site for suborbital meteorologicalMeteorologyMeteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
sounding rocketSounding rocketA sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The origin of the term comes from nautical vocabulary, where to sound is to throw a weighted line from a ship into...
s. - Between 25 May 1969 and 26 December 1990, 1104 M-100M-100 (rocket)The M-100 was a two-stage Soviet sounding rocket. As some 6640 of these rockets were built between 1957 and 1990, it was the most used sounding rocket model ever. Payloads typically radioed science data to ground while descending by parachute. Cross-calibrations with Western counterparts has...
model research sounding rockets were launched from Molodyozhnaya Station. - On 28 February 1979, the MMR06MMR06The MMR06 is a Russian rocket for meteorological experiments, with a length of 3.48 metres and a total weight of 130 kg. The MMR06 rocket was built in two versions: One version had a conical top, the second one, named MMR06-M, had a detachable free flying top, also called dart. The maximum flight...
model was launched from Molodyozhnaya. This was the only instance of this model rocket being launched from Molodyozhnaya Station. - Funding for meteorological research became scarce during late 1980s, as the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
was collapsing. Launches of the M-100 abruptly ended in 1990, and the station was mothballed. - In the 1990s, several scientific and environmental studies were undertaken in the area to fulfill the requirements of the Protocol for the Defence of NatureNatureNature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
in the Antarctic Treaty SystemAntarctic Treaty SystemThe Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively called the Antarctic Treaty System or ATS, regulate international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth's only continent without a native human population. For the purposes of the treaty system, Antarctica is defined as all of the land...
, but the station wasn't reopened. - In February 2006, Valeriy Lukin, the head of the Russian Antarctic Expedition (RAE), said:
There are plans to open the mothballed stations Molodyozhnaya, Leningradskaya
Leningradskaya StationLeningradskaya station was a Soviet Antarctic research station, located at . It was opened on February 25, 1971 by the members of the 15th Soviet Antarctic Expedition...
and RusskayaRusskaya StationRusskaya station was a Soviet Antarctic research station located at . The station was proposed in 1973 and approved in 1978. Construction began the next year and it was opened on March 9, 1980....
in the 2007-2008 season. This will bring great benefits because these stations are located in the Pacific sectorPacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
of Antarctica, which is poorly covered by scientific studies.
See also
- History of AntarcticaHistory of AntarcticaThe history of Antarctica emerges from early Western theories of a vast continent, known as Terra Australis, believed to exist in the far south of the globe...
- List of Antarctic expeditions
- List of research stations in Antarctica
- Soviet Antarctic ExpeditionSoviet Antarctic ExpeditionThe Soviet Antarctic Expedition was part of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute of the Soviet Committee on Antarctic Research of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR....