History of Svalbard: Explorers of Svalbard, Former populated places in Svalbard, Henry Hudson, Willem Barentsz, William Baffin, S. A. Andrées Arctic Balloon Expedition of 1897, Sir Martin Lindsay, 1st Baronet, Smeerenburg, Svalbard Treaty

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 41. Chapters: Explorers of Svalbard, Former populated places in Svalbard, Henry Hudson, Willem Barentsz, William Baffin, S. A. Andrée's Arctic Balloon Expedition of 1897, Sir Martin Lindsay, 1st Baronet, Smeerenburg, Svalbard Treaty, Bratvaag Expedition, Jonas Poole, Operation Gauntlet, Joris Carolus, Nicholas Woodcock, Robert Fotherby, Svenskehuset Tragedy, Thomas Edge, Willem Cornelisz. van Muyden, Thomas Marmaduke, Kobbefjorden, William Batten, Jacob van Heemskerk, John Weddell, Grumant, Pyramiden, Jan Jacobszoon May van Schellinkhout, Virgohamna, Jean Vrolicq, Operation Zitronella, Steven Bennet, Operation Fritham, Ytre Norskøya, Lambert van Tweenhuysen, Arctic Mars Analog Svalbard Expedition, Charles Rabot, Benjamin Leigh Smith, Jan Rijp, Erik Eriksen, Bölscheøya, Gerrit de Veer, Lægerneset. Excerpt: S. A. Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition of 1897 was an ill-fated effort to reach the North Pole in which all three expedition members perished. S. A. Andrée (1854¿97), the first Swedish balloonist, proposed a voyage by hydrogen balloon from Svalbard to either Russia or Canada, which was to pass, with luck, straight over the North Pole on the way. The scheme was received with patriotic enthusiasm in Sweden, a northern nation that had fallen behind in the race for the North Pole. Andrée neglected many early signs of the dangers associated with his balloon plan. Being able to steer the balloon to some extent was essential for a safe journey, and there was plenty of evidence that the drag-rope steering technique he had invented was ineffective; yet he staked the fate of the expedition on drag ropes. Worse, the polar balloon Örnen (Eagle) was delivered directly to Svalbard from its manufacturer in Paris without being tested; when measurements showed it to be leaking more than expected, Andrée refused to acknowledge the alarming implications of this. Most modern students of the expedition see Andrée's optimism, faith in the power of technology, and disregard for the forces of nature as the main factors in the series of events that led to his death and the deaths of his two companions Nils Strindberg (1872¿97) and Knut Frænkel (1870¿97). After Andrée, Strindberg, and Frænkel lifted off from Svalbard in July 1897, the balloon lost hydrogen quickly and crashed on the pack ice after only two days. The explorers were unhurt but faced a grueling trek back south across the drifting icescape. Inadequately clothed, equipped, and prepared, and shocked by the difficulty of the terrain, they did not make it to safety. As the Arctic winter closed in on them in October, the group ended up exhausted on the deserted Kvitøya (White Island) in Svalbard and died there. For 33 years the fate of the Andrée expedition remained one of the unsolved riddles of the Arctic. The chance discovery in