A little-known joint expedition by Neil Armstrong and Sir Edmund Hillary in the Arctic, and the insights we might gain about our planet's condition from its re-enactment.
Peter Hillary, son of the legendary Sir Edmund Hillary, found this year's return voyage to the North Pole poignant, as he recalled the thick ice from the 1985 expedition. The similarity was stark, with open leads of water and thawing ice now marking the landscape.
The original expedition in 1985 was a historic one, with Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the Moon, and Sir Edmund Hillary, the conqueror of Mount Everest, embarking on a joint expedition to the North Pole. The friendship between these two explorers was fueled by mutual respect and a shared passion for exploration.
The expedition was kept secret at the time, due to Armstrong's publicity-shyness. The group relied on ski-equipped Twin Otter aircraft and their observation skills for safe landings. Mike Dunn, an experienced expedition leader, held the role during this joint research trip.
Four decades later, a return voyage was made in July to commemorate the original expedition. This time, they sailed on the state-of-the-art icebreaker Le Commandant Charcot, the world's first hybrid electric polar exploration vessel powered by liquefied natural gas. The Arctic sea ice has drastically reduced, as evident during the 2025 voyage.
The symbolic voyage was not just a celebration of past achievements, but also a stark reminder of the impact of climate change. Peter Hillary emphasizes the importance of being good tenders to the planet to prevent further damage.
The group on the return voyage included descendants of Armstrong and Hillary, as well as the expedition leader who accompanied them in 1985. Ben Lerwill, a multi-award-winning travel writer based in Oxford, was also part of the journey, documenting the expedition for various publications and children's books.
An upcoming documentary film, North Pole '85, will reveal the details of this historic expedition for the first time. Mark, who was six years old during the Moon landing, missed out on the 1985 Arctic trip due to a physics exam. But the legacy of these explorers lives on, reminding us of the importance of being better stewards of Earth, as it is the only place in our cosmic neighborhood that can support life unaided.
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