On May 23, 1928 Airship ITALIA, commanded by general Umberto Nobile, left its anchoring mast in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, on its pioneering flight to the North Pole. This was the first airborne scientific polar expedition. Thanks to favourable conditions, the ITALIA successfully reached Latitude 90°N at 00.20 GMT on May 24.

However, the weather soon took a turn for the worse. On May 25,  it crashed on the ice on its return journey, fighting a headwind that sometimes reached thirty miles per hour, about 120 km northeast of Nordauslandet, Svalbard.

Polarquest2018 has partnered with three prestigious Italian institutions to commemorate the 90th anniversary of this pioneering flight over the North Pole with three events open to the press and the public, on each of the anniversary days of Nobile’s expedition:

• On May 23, at the Science and Technology Museum in Milan, a meeting moderated by Polarquest’s Paola Catapano, focussing on the science of the ITALIA expedition and the science in the Arctic today (La Spedizione del Dirigibile ITALIA e la ricerca in artico). See programme.
  Note that Press should contact stampa@museoscienza.it for accreditation. Members of the public must reserve a seat here.
• On May 24, at the Società Geografica Italiana in Rome, the ITALIA 90th Anniversary Memorial Conference. Including a presentation on Polarquest2018 by Paola Catapano. See programme.
• On May 25, at the Italian Air Force Museum in Vigna di Valle, Rome, the second day of ITALIA 90th Anniversary Memorial Conference, including presentations on Polarquest2018 and Nanuq, by Polarquest2018 team members Peter Gallinelli, Mike Struik and Gianluca Casagrande. See programme.