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Voyage of the Endurance, Now in Google Maps

By sarahdasher on May 11, 2007.

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A new Google Earth overlay allows you to track the progress of HMS Endurance. Sure, it lacks the glamour of Shackelton's initial voyage--but armchair explorers don't have to eat seals.

When the HMS Endurance deploys from Portsmouth, UK every fall, it has a mishmash of strategic and non-strategic objectives. Named for the ship commanded by famed Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton during his ill-fated 1914 expedition, the modern day Endurance has exploration as only a small part of its overall mission. Scientific research and public outreach are also on the docket for the 118-person crew, as well as assisting the occasional foundering cruise ship.

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This year in particular, Endurance has stepped up its public relations and education initiatives, by having crew document the ship's progress online with a series of journal entries and photographs. This Google Earth overlay mounts all the entries onto one of those irresistible 3D maps. Check out this entry from South Georgia Island:

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Hooray for the satellite revolution!

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