Graduate student Chen Chao from Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics and Technology(NIAOT),Chinese Academy of Sciences, acted as a member of the Chinese 41st Antarctic Scientific Expedition team for the Kunlun inland station,successfully completed all scientific expedition tasks and returned to Nanjing on March 25, 2025.

Starting on December 16, 2024, Chen Chao's team for Kunlun inland station departed from Zhongshan Station and traveled 1,280 kilometers across the icy terrain, ultimately reaching the summit of Antarctica at Kunlun Station, located over 4,000 meters above sea level, in 20 days.

During their 18-day stay at Kunlun Station, Chen Chao and his teammate endured the extreme conditions of high altitude and intense cold, successfully completing the scheduled maintenance and upgrade of the Kunlun Station Antarctic Survey Telescope (AST3-2), the first near-infrared telescope in China, as well as critical experiments on telescope technologies under extreme conditions.

Additionally, they carried out maintenance on the power and instrument modules of the astronomical equipment, significantly enhancing the telescope's observational capabilities for the next observation cycle.

After departing Kunlun Station and returning to Zhongshan Station, Chen Chao and his team worked tirelessly for another 24 days, finishing the construction of a new telescope at Zhongshan Station. Currently, all equipment at both Kunlun Station and Zhongshan Station is functioning properly, awaiting the arrival of the polar night to initiate the next round of scientific observations.

Chen Chao is maintaining the Antarctic Sky Survey Telescope (AST3-2)

Chen Chao is upgrading the near-infrared telescope

For this Antarctic astronomical expedition, Chen Chao and research team for Antarctic astronomical technology from NIAOT have conducted extensive and meticulous preparatory work.

Chen Chao personally undergo two consecutive years of high-altitude specialized training, and all equipment destined for Antarctica undergo rigorous extreme-cold testing to ensure stable operation under the most challenging conditions.

Chen Chao is repairing the energy storage power generation system

Scientific expedition team members installed a new telescope at Zhongshan Station and took a group photo (Chen Chao, third from the left in the rightmost photo)

NIAOT is one of the pioneers in Antarctic astronomy and the institution with the highest number of participants in inland astronomical expeditions.

The institute has been dedicated to the development of cutting-edge technologies for astronomical instruments under extreme conditions and has successfully developed a series of astronomical devices.

The operation of these instruments has yielded a substantial amount of high-quality observational data, effectively fostering the advancement of various astronomical research fields and achieving numerous significant scientific accomplishments.