The first official Greek research expedition to Antarctica is a fact, with two women starting the exploration of the South Pole from December 20.

As he explained to SKAI and on the show “Mismatched”, o Simeon Konstantinidispresident of the Greek Society of Polar Zones “the Society of Polar Zones has been established for 11-12 years with the aim of mobilizing public opinion, research centers and the government to deal with the poles. The North Pole due to shipping and the South Pole which is of scientific interest and climate change is also researched there.”

“The goal is to make the South Pole a base. And if someone tells me that it’s an expensive sport, which it really is, I’ll say ‘how are Bulgaria, Ukraine, other countries doing?'” he continued.

In response to a question about why Greece should research Antarctica, Mr. Konstantinidis replied: “Climate change is being studied and in general the effect of rising temperatures on the climate, but because it is also an uncharted area, it has a lot of mineral wealth. The Bulgarians, for example, have found gold, they have found precious metals that are used to make modern mobile phones, laptops…”.

“The mining of the mineral wealth is now only allowed for research purposes,” he explained, pointing out that this is valid until 2048.

“Already, Greeks have gone to scientific bases of other countries and this is how we are going now,” he says.

Regarding difficulties that the Greeks will face in such a mission, he explains that it is the cold, the lack of medical services.

Regarding what will be researched in Antarctica, Mr. Konstantinidis replied: “We, the two scientists, are from the Technical University of Crete, graduates of the school of architects and will study the effect that staying in a confined environment for a long time has on human psychology. That is, depression, anxiety, stress. They wear special watches, chest belts, that measure these factors and they will show them some therapeutic videos. They will leave Greece around December 20 and it is the first time in the history of Greece that female researchers will go to work in Antarctica, because men have gone until now.”