For the first time, a woman — meteorologist, Anzhelika Hanchuk, will lead the annual expedition team to the Akademik Vernadsky station. She will become the leader of the 31st Ukrainian Antarctic Expedition (UAE) for 2026-2027.
Anzhelika has previously worked at the station as a meteorologist. In 2022–2023, the scientist participated in the 27th UAE. In Antarctica, she conducted meteorological, oceanographic, glaciological, aerological and other research.
In total, she has 10 years of experience in meteorology and climatology, as well as experience in team management in Ukraine. She has gone from being a forecaster to the head of the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Centre of the State Emergency Service.
She currently carries out operational forecasting and modelling of hazardous hydrometeorological phenomena for emergency response. This is often done under very tight deadlines and under difficult conditions, so it requires good stress resistance, which is valuable for working in Antarctica.
“During the expedition, Anzhelika proved herself to be a specialist with strong leadership qualities, capable of organising various processes and taking responsibility. At the same time, she is a team player. That is why, among all the participants in the competition, she was chosen not only to work in meteorology, but also to lead the expedition,” said Evgen Dykyi, director of the National Antarctic Scientific Centre.
He also stressed that since 2018, there has been a real gender breakthrough in the Ukrainian Antarctic programme, from an unspoken, almost 20-year ban on women participating in expeditions to the appointment of the first female base commander. In total, 13 female polar explorers have worked in annual expeditions since 2018, and 11 in seasonal expeditions.
