Lucky Rawat, 15, was selected from about 5,000 applicants for Rosatom’s ‘Icebreaker of Knowledge’ expedition
A 15-year-old student became India’s sole representative on a recent scientific exploration of the North Pole, beating thousands of others to earn a place in one of the world’s most exclusive expeditions for school students held in Russia.
Lucky Rawat, from the town of Chakrata in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, completed the ten-day voyage to the top of the world on August 15.
Students from 22 countries, including China and Bangladesh, undertook the Arctic voyage on board the Russian nuclear icebreaker ‘50 Let Pobedy,’ which means ‘50 years of victory.’
They covered Murmansk, the geographic North Pole, and Franz Josef Land to become the 200th surface-vessel expedition to the North Pole.
Unlike the South Pole, the North Pole sits atop shifting sea ice on the Arctic Ocean. Rawat, who is familiar with the Himalayan snow, called the Arctic snow “just different.”
“It was hard like a rock plate and grained like sand at the same time,” he told RT India upon his return. “Its seamless white color gave it an endless ice sheet look.”
He described the expedition as a “learning experience.”
“From the first flight to boarding the ship… it taught me that boundaries are just some lines on a map.
“Me learning a Russian song and representing my whole team of international students in the closing ceremony was unexpected.”
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The program, called the ‘Icebreaker of Knowledge’ was organized by Russian state-owned giant Rosatom.
Russia has eight nuclear-powered icebreakers, which are owned and operated by Rosatom, making it the only country in the world with such a fleet.
Only one student was selected from a country for the expedition. Rawat, who is trained in judo, cleared the online exam from his home, and created a video to earn his place on the team.
Students in the exploration team worked with scientists on experiments, including the launch of a radiosonde – a weather instrument package attached to a balloon – from the North Pole, and the world’s first recoverable stratospheric monitoring platform for the Arctic.
The data from the platform will help improve communications along the Northern Sea Route and advance the creation of an independent Arctic monitoring system that is not tied to data from foreign satellites, the Murmansk Arctic University was quoted as saying in a statement by Tass.
The Northern Sea Route, which follows along the Russian Arctic coast, is garnering serious interest from several nations, including India and China, amid disruptions in the traditional shipping routes via the Suez Canal.
Rawat was effusive in his praise for the Russian people, calling them “very hospitable.”
“They did know a few things about Indian culture and Indian cinema, and of course, the spicy Indian food,” he recalled. “They knew some Hindi words, such as ‘namaste’ and ‘dhanyawad,’ and would say them to me in a very cute accent.”
“The Icebreaker of Knowledge project is living proof that true science knows no borders,” said Alexey Zhirukhin, a member of the international jury and Arctic Ambassador. “We are opening the Arctic to children from across the globe, showing them Russia’s unique technologies and the breathtaking beauty of the North Pole.”
