Antarctic Expeditions post 1953
Summary of Antarctic Expeditions (with a known or suspected contemporaneous postal history)
Details listed by permission from: Hal Vogel, Essence of Polar Philately, (USA: American Society of Polar Philately, 2008, 2020), Appendices II-V, (separately revised).
Essence of Polar Philately by Hal Vogel
An encyclopedia of polar philately which includes chapters on acquisition, valuation and gems; and 13 appendices on Arctic/Antarctic expeditions, vessels, stations, and aerophilatelic polar events. Available from the American Philatelic Society here.
A gallery of polar postal history connected to these expeditions has being added to the website. If images have already been added to the gallery for a specific expedition then you can click on the link to view.
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| YEAR | EXPEDITION | LEADER |
| 1954-55 | U.S. Navy Antarctic Reconnaissance Expedition | Glen Jacobsen |
| 1955 | South African Bouvet Island reconnaissance | Paul Dryden-Dymond |
| 1955-56 | Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition I | Peter Mott |
| 1955-57 | Gough Island Scientific Survey | Robert Chambers |
| 1955-59 | British Royal Society International Geophysical Year Expedition | |
| 1955 | Beginning of Soviet Union stations establishment and relief | |
| 1955 | Beginning of USA (Operation Deep Freeze) stations establishment and relief | |
| 1955-58 | Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition | Fuchs & Hillary |
| 1956-57 | British Royal Antarctic cruise | Prince Philip |
| 1956-57 | Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition II | Peter Mott |
| 1956 | Beginning of Japanese stations establishment and relief | |
| 1956 | Beginning of Japanese fisheries voyages | |
| 1956-60 | Norway station establishment and relief | |
| 1957 | Beginning of New Zealand continental stations establishment and relief | |
| 1957-68 | Belgium station establishment and relief (1964-68 with Holland) | |
| 1958 | United States naval operation (Project Argus) rocket firing | |
| 1958 | Argentine (Les Eclaireurs) tourist cruise | Eduardo Llosa |
| 1959 | Argentine (Yapeyú) tourist cruise | Juan Carrera |
| 1959 | Chilean (Navarino) tourist cruise | Fernando Garcia |
| 1959 | Polish expedition (recurring occupation beginning 1978) | Wojciech Krzeminski |
| 1959 | Proposed Italian Bouvet Island expedition | Silvio Zavatti |
| 1959 | German Democratic Republic begins recurring expeditions (later a station) | |
| 1959 | Möwe III visit to Marion Island | Heinr. Krohn |
| 1959-60 | First Antarctic voyage of Chile's Piloto Pardo | |
| 1959-60 | British yacht (Mischief) cruise | Harold Tilman |
| 1960 | South Africa begins continental stations establishment and relief | |
| 1962 | West Germany (BRD) begins expedition participation (later its own stations) | |
| 1962-63 | New Zealand Auckland Islands expedition | Robert Falla |
| 1962-72 | PM-3A nuclear power plant operations at U.S. McMurdo Station | |
| 1964-65 | South Indian Ocean Expedition | Warwick Deacock |
| 1965 | Argentine "Operación 90" traverse to South Pole | |
| 1966 | First of a series of Lindblad (U.S.) tourist cruises | Lars-Eric Lindblad |
| 1966-67 | British yacht (Mischief) cruise | Harold Tilman |
| 1966-67 | American Antarctic Mountaineering Expedition | Nicholas Clinch |
| 1967-68 | Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition South Pole traverse | Masayoshi Murayama |
| 1968 | Italian expedition | Aide Segrè |
| 1968 | Argentine "Operación Rescate" Argentine Island base member rescue | |
| 1969-70 | U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey expedition | |
| 1969-72 | Poncet French yacht (Damien) cruise | Janichon & Poncet |
| 1970-71 | British Joint Services Expedition to Elephant Island | Malcolm Burley |
| 1970-71 | Italian yacht (San Giuseppe Due) cruise | Giovanni Ajmone-Cat |
| 1970 | Beginning of occasional Norwegian Antarctic expeditions | |
| 1971-72 | Pederson South Pole expedition | Einar Pedersen |
| 1971-79 | French & USA participation in International Antarctic Glaciological Project | |
| 1972-73 | French yacht (Damien) cruise | Jérôme Poncet |
| 1971-73 | U.S. deep sea drilling (Glomar Challenger) voyage | |
| 1972-74 | Australian yacht (Ice Bird) cruise | David Lewis |
| 1973 | Argentine Air Force trans-continental flight | I. A. González |
| 1973 | Spanish (Cabo San Roque) tourist cruise | José Balaga |
| 1973 | Resumption of Italian Antarctic expeditions that would continue | |
| 1974 | U.S. oceanographic voyage (Melville & Glomar Challenger) | |
| 1975-76 | West German Antarctic fisheries voyage | Hempel, Sahrhage & Steinberg |
| 1976-77 | First of a series of Chinese (Taiwan) fisheries voyage | Chen Chiang |
| 1976-77 | Poland begins with a fisheries voyage and eventually mans an | |
| 1977 | Russian relief vessel Mikhail Somov long-term trapping in Antarctic ice | |
| 1977 | Pan American Airways world bi-polar flight | |
| 1977-79 | Qantas and Air New Zealand Antarctic tourist flights | |
| 1977-78 | Oceanographic Research Foundation (Solo) cruise | David Lewis |
| 1977-78 | Italian (Enrico C) tourist cruise | |
| 1977-78 | Scott Polar Research Institute radio-echo sounding expedition | David Drewry |
| 1978-79 | South Korean fisheries voyage (later would establish an Antarctic station) | |
| 1979-82 | Transglobe Expedition (included Antarctic phase) | Ranulph Fiennes |
| 1980-81 | International Antarctic Biomedical Expedition | Desmond Lugg |
| 1980-81 | First of a series of Japanese geophysics voyages | Yasufumi Ishiwada |
| 1981 | Soviet -U.S. joint Weddell Sea expedition | Sarukhanyan & Gordon |
| 1981-82 | British Joint Services South Georgia Expedition | Robert Veal |
| 1981-82 | Beginning of Indian Antarctic expeditions with established stations | |
| 1981-82 | Japanese mountaineering expedition | Naomi Uemura |
| 1981-82 | French oceanographic voyage aboard R/V Explora | |
| 1982-83 | Beginning of Brazilian expeditions eventually with established station | |
| 1982-83 | Spanish (private) Antarctic expedition | Guillermo Crynes |
| 1982-83 | Yacht Williwaw Antarctic cruise | Willy de Roos |
| 1983 | Australian and Austrian private (Cheynes II) expedition | James Smith |
| 1983 | Seven Summits Expedition | Wells & Bass |
| 1983-85 | British Joint Services Expedition to Brabant Island | Chris Furse |
| 1984-85 | Project Blizzard expedition | Blunt & Vining |
| 1984-85 | Chinese (PRC) recurring expedition with one, then a second Antarctic | |
| 1984-85 | Uruguayan recurring expedition with manned station | |
| 1985 | Russian relief vessel Mikhail Somov long-term trapping in Antarctic ice | |
| 1985-86 | South Korean Antarctic Peninsula scientific and mainland climbing expedition | |
| 1985-86 | Project Blizzard expedition | Blunt & Vining |
| 1985-86 | Austrian expedition | Bruno Klausbruckner |
| 1985-86 | Greenpeace expeditions begin | Peter Wilkinson |
| 1985-86 | Italian Terra Nova Bay reconnaissance for base establishment | Ezio Sterpone |
| 1985-87 | In The Footsteps of Scott expedition | Mear & Swan |
| 1986-87 | Dutch expeditions resume as occasional projects | Hein van Bohemen |
| 1986-87 | Norwegian-British Ninety Degrees South expedition | Monica Kristensen |
| 1986-87 | Spanish expedition reconnaissance leading to establishment of permanent station | |
| 1986-87 | Resumption of Belgian series of Antarctic expedition projects | |
| 1986-88 | International (Joides Resolution) geophysics voyage | |
| 1987-88 | First of a series of tourist air/ground expeditions | Martyn Williams |
| 1987-88 | Beginning of Ecuador Antarctic presence with Antarctic station | |
| 1987-88 | International (Joides Resolution) geophysics voyage | |
| 1987-88 | Beginning of Peru Antarctic presence with Antarctic station | |
| 1987-88 | South Korea established King Sejong station | |
| 1987-88 | Beginning of Swedish Antarctic expedition base presence | |
| 1988-89 | Canadian participation with French Antarctic expedition | |
| 1988-89 | Beginning of Finnish Antarctic expedition base presence | |
| 1989-90 | International Trans-Antarctic Expedition | Steger & Etienne |
| 1989-90 | Trans-Antarctic traverse expedition | Messner & Fuchs |
| 1990-91 | Beginning of Pakistan Antarctic presence with Antarctic station | |
| 1990-91 | Beginning of Czech Republic Antarctic presence with manned station | |
| 1990-91 | North Korean Antarctic expedition | |
| 1991 | Russian relief vessel Mikhail Somov long-term trapping in Antarctic ice | |
| 1991-92 | Beginning of joint Finnish-Norwegian-Swedish Antarctic base expeditions | |
| 1992-93 | All Women's (traverse) Expedition | Anne Bancroft |
| 1992-93 | Swiss research project (continuing occasionally at other nations' stations) | |
| 1993-94 | Beginning of Bulgaria Antarctic presence with manned station | |
| 1992-93 | Jamaican Antarctic expedition | |
| 1995-96 | Beginning of Ukraine Antarctic presence with manned station | |
| 1995-96 | First solo, unsupported traverse to South Pole | Borge Ousland |
| 1995-1996 | Attained South Pole and South Magnetic Pole (and NP) | David Hempleman-Adams |