GMV joins the SOS ARCTIC 2022 project in Greenland

GMV is collaborating with the SOS ARCTIC 2022 project, sponsoring a scientific expedition that will cross the island of Greenland aboard the Wind Sled with a clear mission: science and innovation to gain greater knowledge of climate change and improve the future of our planet.

The expedition will depart in May near the town of Narsarsuaq and will embark upon a pioneering 1,000-kilometer crossing of the Danish island's glacier aboard the first zero-emission polar vehicle, owned by the Wind Sled Project driven by Ramón Larramendi.

Lucía Hortal, a chemist and popularizer, is the chief scientist of SOS ARCTIC 2022 and will be in charge of coordinating the scientific activities that will take place during the approximately four weeks of the expedition. First, the Universidad Autónoma of Madrid will lead the Microairpolar-2 project, focused on the study of the distribution and biogeography of aeronautical organisms to help forecast possible scenarios of global climate change in deglaciation processes. Samples will be collected at different elevations to gather information on this ecosystem and assist in decision-making with respect to climate change. All samples collected will be further investigated by scientists with expertise in the field.

In addition, the Astrobiology Center (INTA-CSIC), which is associated with NASA's Astrobiology Institute, will test scientific infrastructures oriented to the detection of life in planetary exploration missions, making Greenland's glacial environment an analogous terrain to the permafrost of northern Mars or the icy moons Enceladus and Europa.

During the expedition, the technical capabilities and scientific application of the Wind Sled will continue to be enhanced. In addition, as part of SOS ARCTIC 2022, science education campaigns will be carried out to raise public awareness of the climate emergency.

With this support, GMV is reaffirming its firm commitment to science and technology innovation as an engine of growth and development. The organization will follow the progress of the SOS ARCTIC 2022 team and we will share the news of this expedition through our social media profiles.