Antarctica, a giant ship, clad in Chinese red, raised the ice-breaking pillar of the bow of the ship, plowed a waterway and slowly sailed.
This is the Chinese "Xuelong 2"!
On November 23, 2021, the second batch of 101 members of The 38th Chinese Antarctic Scientific Expedition set off from Shanghai on the "Xuelong 2" polar scientific research vessel and headed for Antarctica. Since its delivery in July 2019, this polar scientific research icebreaker, which was built independently in China for the first time, has undergone many major examinations and has become a "divine weapon" for our Chinese to explore the polar region.
In July 2019, the "Xuelong 2" docked at the dock of Jiangnan Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ding Ting
Antarctica, containing countless scientific mysteries, as early as a hundred years ago, European and American countries have taken the steps of scientific expeditions.
But it was not until 1984 that Chinese scientists "went out" to Antarctica for the first time. At that time, there were no icebreakers, and only ordinary ships began to explore the difficult polar regions.
Nine years later, China purchased an unfinished Arctic Ocean transport supply ship from Ukraine, which has been modified many times to become China's only polar research icebreaker - "Xue Long". This meritorious ship "fought alone" for more than 20 years. However, the functional "halfway home", coupled with the "old Ji Futuo" on the age of the ship, the old "Snow Dragon" is no longer up to the arduous task of China's polar scientific expedition.
The Snow Dragon 2 was born from time to time.
It was organized and constructed by the China Polar Research Center under the Ministry of Natural Resources. Benchmarking the world's first-class scientific research icebreaker, the "Xue long 2" is more than 120 meters long, and the bow is shaped like an ice-breaking hammer, which can continuously "walk" in the 1.5 meters thick ice at a speed of 2 to 3 nautical miles per hour. Its endurance reaches 20,000 nautical miles, and under the rated staffing, it is not replenished halfway and can be active at sea for up to 60 days continuously.
What makes the world envious is that the "Xue long 2" has a unique skill - two-way icebreaking. The bow and stern of the ship can break the ice whether it is driving in the positive direction or when it is backwards. Not only that, its propeller strength is also much higher than that of ordinary ships, when encountering ice ridges that are difficult to break, the high-speed rotating propeller at the stern can be used to "cut" the ice and open a waterway.
On July 11, the staff walked on the icebreaker of the "Xuelong 2" polar scientific expedition. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ding Ting
In the past, on the "Xue Long", when the expedition team took samples and deployed the probe, they had to stand by the ship at the risk of falling into the sea, and if there was too much ice floes, it was more difficult to sample. However, on the "Xuelong 2", there is a "wellhead" that leads directly to the seabed - the moon pond, so that the scientific research instrument can be directly into the water on the ship, even if the outside of the ship is covered with 100% sea ice, it is not afraid.
In addition, a variety of sensors are distributed throughout the ship, forming an intelligent "nervous system" that enables autonomous driving in complex environments. The configuration of the advanced power positioning system can make the hull "as stable as Mount Tai" in the wind and waves.
"The 'Xue long 2' not only fills the gap in The field of major equipment in China's polar scientific expeditions, but also highlights the continuous improvement of China's ship technology." Wu Gang, chief designer of the "Xuelong 2", said.
The name of the Xuelong 2 is Chen Dake, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a researcher at the Second Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources. For the expectation of this giant ship, Academician Chen wrote in the naming words:
"I name you 'Xuelong 2', may you: inherit the eternal Antarctic spirit, full of polar and the expectations of the motherland, carry the mission and responsibility of the polar quest, carry the glory and dream of rejuvenating the sea power, face the north and south poles, chop the waves, break the ice, and move forward smoothly and peacefully!"
(Reporter Yang Shu)
Source: Guangming Daily (2022-01-13 01 edition)
Photo: Xinhua News Agency, People's Daily client
Editor-in-charge: Zhang Yongqun
Editor: Wu Yaqi Xing Yanyan