Icebreaker in Antartica (06/12/1996)
Tonight and during the early hours of Thursday morning (EST), the National Science Foundation research vessel Natanial B. Palmer, plans to deliver approximately four tons of food to Russia's Mirmy station. Thirty-eight people are spending the dark Antarctic winter on the Russian base, where temperatures are currently approximately 15 degrees Celcius below zero."Without NSF's aid, the Russianstation supplies would run out within several days." said Erick Chiang. The Russian resupply ship, Akademik Federov normally supplies the station, but is behind schedule due to mechanical problems. It is expected to reach anotherRussian station. Moldezhnayav within a week and to arrive at Mirny within several weeks. Currently, the Akademik Federov is operating at only about 70 percent of its propulsion capacity.The U.S. National Science Foundation, which runs the U.S. Antarctic Research Program, has agreed for humanitarian reasons to provide emergency provisions to Mirny.