January 28 is celebrated Antarctica Discovery Day. It happened in 1820, when, after two years of traveling on the sloops “Vostok” and “Myrnyi”, the members of the Bellingshausen and Lazarev expedition first saw the shores of the hitherto unknown continent. At the same time as Russian explorers, Antarctica was discovered by British sailors, who were the first to land on its shores on January 30, 1820.

Now Antarctica is a free continent, without borders and time zones. Also, its uniqueness lies in the fact that it is the coldest and driest place on the planet, because the amount of precipitation on its territory is approximately 10 cm per year. The strongest winds and the most powerful solar flares are observed here.

The surface of Antarctica is identical to the conditions of Mars. This made it possible for NASA representatives to conduct training under the Viking space program here.

Despite the fact that in Antarctica there is no permanent human population, it needs a particularly careful attitude to itself, because it contains more than 70% of all fresh water on the planet. Therefore, the purpose of the holiday is not only to honor the memory of the pioneers, but also to remind of the great responsibility to future generations to preserve the purity of this icy continent.