December 2022
"Nothing exists until you experience it"
A new kind of expedition
Embarking on this exceptional project: Alex Ionescu : cybersecurity expert, adventurer 3.0, and promoter of the expedition. His idea : To charter the Commandant Charcot, the most sophisticated icebreaking cruise ship of our time, which launched in 2021. Then Alex met SEDNA, the nomad polar observatory
SEDNA’s vision and offerings were immediately welcomed by Alex, and what was initially a private event has since widened in scope to a format that integrates scientific research and engaging sensory activities.
This collaboration unlike anything ever seen before, the fruit of 2 years of labor, has culminated in this new kind of expedition confronting an exceptional and unpredictable challenge. Not the challenge of going farther, higher, or harder, but of putting the sharing of exceptional discoveries and sensations at the heart of the exploit, bringing meaning to human adventure rather than focusing on its extreme aspects.
The voyage itself has a number of goals.First, to conduct real scientific research on the remarkable tool that is theCommandant Charcot. Second, to raise awareness on the ground of the reality of the elements in Antarctica through engaging immersive experiences. And finally, to allow the guests of the expedition- including artists, scientists, business people, journalists, and several children- to fulfill their dreams and to come out of the experience more aware, more engaged, and, in turn, more active in the fight to protect our planet.
The Weddell Sea was selected jointly by both Alex and SEDNA for its remote nature, its topography, and its ice coverage, which make it one of the world’s last unspoiled areas. It’s the ideal region for collecting crucial data that will allow us to better understand, evaluate, and predict the effects of climate change on the environment and biodiversity.
A never-before-seen itinerary spans the east coast of the Antarctic peninsula, into regions that are very difficult to access and very seldom explored.
The Antarctic Treaty imposes extremely strict conditions on all research or exploration activities conducted in these protected and regulated areas.SEDNA is committed to maintaining a particularly high level of environmental care and adherence to standards during its missions.
A perfect grasp of the issues was necessary to obtain the various licenses and authorizations that were delivered by the competent authorities in France and Chile prior to the organization of this unique expedition.
This expertise is a key part of what SEDNA has to offer as an organization.
A team of 20 scientists involved in no less than 10 different research projects has therefore been able to carry out observations, and to collect data and samples in this very understudied area.
Chile’s new Millennium Institute BASE, headed by its director, Elie Poulin, has carried out research projects in a number of sectors ranging from microbiology in marine and inland waters, to plankton studies, to the ecology of marine, intertidal, and land populations. It has also recorded images and audio to aid in the upcoming creation of an Antarctic Metaverse dedicated to science.
Peter Fretwell, a penguin specialist at the British Antarctic Survey, has conducted ground counts of emperor penguins in a colony in order to calibrate satellite image observations.
Shawnee Traylor, a PhD student at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology, has collected numerous water samples in order to measure the quantity of dissolved gas, and in particular CO2, within them.
Yves Plancherel from Imperial CollegeLondon and Phyllis Lam from theUniversity of Southampton are interested in rare-earth elements and in the nutrients found in seawater, ice melt, and rivers. Footage captured by drone has allowed them to draw up a precise multispectral map of a part of the visited areas.
A French team from the Institut d’Alembert led by Olivier Adam was able to conduct hydrophone recordings in a systematic way in order to identify marine mammals present in the area covered.
The wide variety of these fields of research, coupled with the scientists’ enthusiasm for communicating their passion, allowed them to build a real synergy with their passengers, who were themselves greedy for knowledge and ready to participate in an active way.These moments of exchange, shared experiences, and working on the ground made this journey an unforgettable and enriching one for all involved.
As well as the friendly and laidback Alex, this extraordinary adventure was able to see the light of day and operate with full efficiency thanks to the magic touch of a particular duo—namely, the experienced captain Etienne Garcia and the explorerNicolas “Niko” Dubreuil, with his perfect command of the terrain.
After pushing himself to the limit through a series of exploits during a part of his life spent traversing the deserted icy expanses of Greenland, getting up close and personal with the extreme and at times irremediable, Niko, the founder of SEDNA, now paves the way for the future expeditions he’s always dreamed of, where adventure is found no longer only in physical or technological exploits, but in sharing, exchange, and the search for meaning.
The 4 founding pillars of SEDNA-exploration ,science, meeting, and sharing-have helped build connections between participants from varied backgrounds, guests, friends, family, scientists, and crew. A rare chance offered to the scientific teams to conduct their research on the terrain and to share their knowledge and their work in real time with passengers.
SEDNA a ainsi mis au point un nouveau format « d’exploration utile », combinant science académique et participative, sensibilisation à la recherche scientifique, accès à des territoires inconnus, découverte du milieu et immersions sensorielles engagées. L’occasion de se confronter à la réalité et sortir de sa zone de confort tout en bénéficiant des facilités d’un navire parfaitement équipé.
Ce modèle a permis une remarquable intégration et des synergies peu communes entre passagers et scientifiques, aussi bien lors des activités de terrain que lors des échanges organisés ou spontanés. Bien souvent la découverte des mondes polaires se limite à une accumulation de clichés et de visions furtives, certes enchanteurs, mais laissant le passager simple observateur passif de cet univers qui défile devant lui.
SEDNA vous prend par la main et vous transforme en acteur de votre expédition par une immersion dans les rigueurs des glaces. Par la pratique de la plongée en eau polaire, du bivouac ou du ski de randonnée sur la banquise, les passagers ont pu appréhender la rudesse de ce monde de glace au cœur de l’Antarctique, et ainsi mesurer l’engagement physique et mental nécessaire pour le parcourir.
Tout déplacement quel qu’il soit a un impact sur l’environnement, mais SEDNA génère dans ses projets des retours environnementaux positifs, notamment grâce aux retombées scientifiques, humaines et sociétales résultant de l’esprit et du principe des missions.
An indirect approach that often echoes weeks or months after returning home, during those snapshots of time that simply transform you into someone who’s "not totally the same as you were before."
A format that urgently needs to be reproduced to provide scientific research endeavors with the means to study our planet’s mechanisms, and to raise awareness among stakeholders throughout society who will in turn be able to enact change. To experience an extraordinary, one-of-a-kind, and meaningful adventure in which you can awaken your inner explorer and see the world with the eager eyes of a child.