Maitri

This article is about the Maitri Antarctic station. For the surface-to-air missile, see Maitri (missile). For discussion of the literal meaning of the word maitrī, see metta. For Christian Death member, see Maitri (composer).

Maitri station.

Maitri is India's second permanent research station in Antarctica. It was built and finished in 1989, shortly before the first station Dakshin Gangotri was buried in ice and abandoned in 1990–91. Maitri is situated on the rocky mountainous region called Schirmacher Oasis.

Facilities

The station has modern facilities to carry out research in various disciplines, such as biology, earth sciences, glaciology, atmospheric sciences, meteorology, cold region engineering, communication, human physiology and medicine. It has a capacity to accommodate 25 people for winter. Fresh water is provided through a fresh water lake named Lake Priyadarshini, in front of Maitri.

Milestones

India's commitment to polar science can be summarized by the following milestones:

On 19 August 1983 India was admitted to the Antarctic Treaty and thereafter obtained Consultative Status. In the same year The permanent station Dakshin Gangotri was built, where the first Wintering was conducted. Soon on 1 October 1984 India was admitted as a member of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). 2 years later India became a member of Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). Between 1988–1989 India built its second indigenous station ‘Maitri’. In 1997 India ratified the Environment Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty, thus upholding its commitment to preserve the pristine continent. India completed its first 25 years in Antarctica and launched an expedition in Dec 2005 called the Silver Jubilee Indian Antarctic Expedition. Later progressingly, India, in the year 2010: launched scientific expedition to South Pole – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11670634India's new research station Bharathi will be scheduled to operational by mid 2012.

Expeditions

The chapter of the Indian Antarctic Programme opened in December 1981 when the first Indian Expedition was flagged off for Antarctica from Goa. It was led by S.Z. Qasim. Subsequently, annual Antarctic expeditions have been sent through the Department of Ocean Development and the National Centre for Antarctic & Ocean Research. So far, twenty-one such expeditions have been launched, including one to the Weddell Sea; one of these was a krill expedition to the southern ocean.

See also

• Indian Antarctic Program
• Dakshin Gangotri

External links

• National Centre for Antarctic & Ocean Research (NCAOR) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of Government of India
• COMNAP Antarctic Facilities
• COMNAP Antarctic Facilities Map