Daijiworld news network's special correspondent

Panaji, Feb 9: India’s thirst to explore icy continent of Antarctica is getting much sharper with National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) initiating a special expedition this year.

Goa-based NCOAR’s special expedition which took off from Mauritius to this mysterious continent is aimed at establishing another Indian research station there. This would be the third Indian station on Antarctica, after Gangotri and Maitri, which had been set up way back in 1984 and 1988 respectively.

NCOAR scientists stated that 24-member-team led by senior scientist M Sudhakar would collect baseline data from the new site. The new site for the fresh station was identified during 2005-06 expedition, scientists stated.

The expedition have the job of preparing environment impact assessment report besides making geological study of the site, which are mandatory to start a station. "These studies would be presented before Antartica treaty consultative machinery (ATCM), a confederation of all the countries working on this icy continent.

"If everything goes well, the work on this station would begin somewhere in 2007 and would be completed within a year,’’ stated a scientist.