Environment

Team members share a common love for, and concern about, the natural world. To demonstrate their commitment, the WomenQuest trek is designed to be a pack-in/pack-out expedition leaving no refuse in its wake.

Technology

Using the most current video technology, every step of the expedition will be documented on tape for a television documentary to be aired after the expedition members return. During the trek, several women will communicate regularly with students in classrooms in the United States and Canada to provide real-time participation for the school children. The latest in clothing, navigation, shelter, and arctic gear will be field-tested by members of the WomenQuest expedition, providing a rare opportunity to measure equipment use by women in arctic conditions.

Communication

The U.S. Navy is providing satellite telephones to the members of Polar Trek because this is an exceptional opportunity to thest the telephones in Arctic conditions. Mounting a Navy expedition for this purpose would be expensive, so collaborating with the women of Polar Trek serves two important purposes: (1) it allows the Navy to test the telephones under extreme conditions and (2) it allows the women of Polar Trek to share their experiences with school children in Michigan by making telephone calls to their classroom. (Click here to visit our Classes & Activities for middle-school students.)

NASA will host a live Webcast when the NASA team joins the Polar Trek women when they reach the North Pole (tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, April 24, weather permitting). Dr. Kathryn Clark, Chief NASA Scientist for Human Exploration and Development Sciences (Code M), will meet the trekkers when they reach True North, and you can view the live Webcast here on our site.

To view the Webcast, you will need Windows Media Player on your computer. To download and install a free copy, click on the icon below.