Arctic Balloon Expedition Found 3 Decades Later

The expedition faced controversy, but its method was even more worrying. Andrée started flying balloons in 1892.This was five years before launching his expedition.Between his first flight and the final expedition, Andrée completed nine flights, covering about 900 miles over 40 total hours.

Andrée tested theories on how to control an unruly balloon over the Arctic. He used drag ropes fastened to sails and sandbag releases for this.The drag ropes aided in slowing the balloon in strong winds. The attached sail acted like a ship's sail, letting him steer the balloon. These control methods failed during his final flight.These control methods did not work as planned during his final flight.

Andrée and his crew chose the launch spot strategically along a Norwegian archipelago. This stretch was calculated to be only 650 miles away.The launch site was 650 miles from the geographic center of the North Pole.The location came from the geographic center of the North Pole. This spot put them just a few hours from the farthest north point any expedition had reached.

Andrée calculated they would reach the North Pole in 43 hours. After 65 hours, they did not reach the North Pole. They found themselves stranded on ice with a deflated balloon.

Based on the records,the crew kept, the balloon, named "The Eagle," launched on July 11, 1897, as planned. It drifted from the inflation house, and "the balloon struck something." It then rose a few hundred feet before descending so low the basket hit the water.The crew kept the balloon, named "The Eagle," recovered during the 1930 expedition. The balloon launched July 11, 1897, as planned. As it drifted from the house it inflated in, "the balloon struck something." The balloon then shot up a few hundred feet, then dropped until its basket hit the water below.

Watching the launch, it is unclear if those present saw the crew quickly drop nine sandbags to gain altitude and escape the water.

They lost sight of land within an hour. By July 14, their balloon failed to stay aloft and went down.

Andrée's wish to pilot a balloon over difficult areas happened at the same time as the desire of the king of Sweden, Oscar II, to reach the North Pole.The king of Sweden was Oscar II.During the late 1800s, an Arctic Race started. Many countries fought to be first to find and explore the North Pole. Before this, few land expeditions existed; they all failed to reach the far limits of the unknown Arctic regions to the north. According to the New Yorker.

Late 1800s saw an Arctic Race start. Many nations fought to gain fame for first discovering and exploring the North Pole. Before this, few expeditions reached the vast, unknown Arctic regions to the north, mostly by land, and all failed. According to theNew YorkerOscar II believed Sweden must find one of the world's last unvisited places. Swedish citizens expressed great excitement.

National attention and excitement for the expedition caused people to mostly ignore the safety concerns raised before the first launch and the resignation of the other two crew members.

Andrée was a scientist and an explorer. He became obsessed with the idea that balloon travel could let people study and see places on Earth previously unreachable. This led him to plan the soon-to-be famous expedition.

Shortly after Andrée took his first balloon flight in 1892, he flew withCaptain Francesco Cetti.He then sought to buy his own balloon. Using a public science fund, he bought a balloon named Svea, the Swedish national emblem, and completed nine successful flights in it.

During these flights, Andrée saw how unpredictable and often uncontrollable balloons were. Clouds caused sudden rises and sharp drops. Also, herecordedthe effect of these altitude shifts on him. At least once, he felt "the beating of the pulse producing a faint singing noise on the left side of his skull."

These trips allowed Andrée to test control and steering methods. He would later rely too quickly on these methods during his expedition north.

Before the expedition's successful 1897 launch, Andrée attempted one launch the year before in 1896.

The The 1896 launchwas set for a mid-summer day. Andrée was to have two men with him: Nils Ekholm, a meteorologist, and Nils Strindberg, a physics professor. Because the launch schedule kept getting pushed back for first days and then weeks due to bad weather, the crew, including Andrée, grew discouraged. After three weeks, the crew decided they must wait until the next summer season to launch.

One member of Andrée's crew would not return for the next launch. Ekholm worried about the trip's possibility. After seeing the problems from the first launch, he decided to leave the expedition. He had serious doubts about whether the balloon could hold enough hydrogen for the journey. Consequently, he was dismissed, and an engineer named Knut Frankel took his spot.

For the initial launch attempt of the S. A. Andrée Expedition on May 11, 1896, many people already expressed safety and feasibility concerns through local and international news.

One newspaper based in Albany, New York, The Albany ExpressEven newspapers questioned the expedition's safety disregard for the crews in the cold, separate from the balloon's build.

The men did not suggest how they would protect themselves for fifteen days in the intense mid-air cold of the eternal winter regions. Any amount of furs seemed insufficient. Sustaining life on the ice, where shelter is possible, is very hard, experience shows. In a balloon's frail car, exposed to the open air's cold, it must seem impossible.

The final line of the January 16, 1896, article shows the reporter predicted the tragic outcome history would long seek answers for: "it looks as if this expedition will result in the sacrifice of several human lives and nothing more."

After the first launch failed in 1896, the time came for Andrée and his crew to try again. Sadly, at this same time,Andrée’s mother died.She died from an illness.

Andrée was very close to his mother, especially after his father died when he was sixteen. He had never married. Her death hurt him deeply. Andrée reportedly wrote that her passing cut the only thread keeping him alive.

Many historians question Andrée's character when discussing the expedition's end. However, recovered journal entries suggest he kept a positive front with his crew and mourned privately. Later, upon reaching their final camp site, Andrée named it "Mina Andrée's Place" to honor his late mother.

In August 1930, members of the Bratvaag sealing expedition found the coast of White Island, a land area in the Norwegian Archipelago of Svalbard. They expected a unique sealing chance there because the land often blocked passage due to glaciers and heavy snow.

Upon arrival, they approached a frozen stream and saw a piece ofaluminum sticking out from the snow.When they pulled it out, they saw a dark shape just below: Andrée's boat and body.

Andrée’s bodywas found headless, leaning against a rock next to a frozen stream with his crew’s boat nearby. What he did at the stream remains unknown, and how he died there is debated. His body had his hunting gun set down right beside him, suggesting no threat. His journal was wrapped and placed between his back and the rock he leaned on to take his last breath. Investigators think this was on purpose, Andrée preserving the journal for anyone who finds his body later.

The cadavers of Frænkel and Strindberg also had journals and belongings with them.Film canisters held 200 photographs Strindberg took during the expedition.Strindberg took 200 photographs during the expedition.

Andrée's body and the bodies of his two crew members offered hints about their deaths. Researchers still argue what caused them to die on the ice.

Theories include lead poisoning from food cans, botulism, suicide, scurvy, and an attack by a polar bear.Theories include lead poisoning from food cans, botulism, suicide, scurvy, and an attack by a polar bear.One idea suggests the crew got trichinosis from eating undercooked polar bear meat and liver. However, the bodies showed no signs of the disease.Some researchers dispute the trichinosis theory because the crew members' bodies lacked any signs of the disease.

The crews' bodies were cremated.The crews' bodies were cremated.A full autopsy of their remains is impossible because they were transported back to Sweden in 1930 shortly after.

The three men's journals were all very different.The three men's journals were very different.The journals gave a full account of the expedition. Andrée noted journey details like crew placement and food stores. Frænkel's journal contained science. Strindberg's journal was personal and emotional.

In one of Andrée's first entries,he described the snow as light, dirty yellow across wide areas. The polar bear's fur shared that color. Andrée and the men recorded their initial good feelings, which carried them through.He described the snow on the ice: a light, dirty yellow across huge areas. The polar bear's fur matched that color. Andrée and the other men recorded their general positivity at the start of their trip; this feeling carried them through to the end.

In an entry,Strindberg wrote in an entry on July 25:Strindberg wrote in an entry on July 25:

We stopped for the day after pulling sledges for ten hours. I am tired but must talk first… I am in excellent health and you need not fear for us. We will come home soon.

ByAugust 17,Over a month after launch, Andrée worried: Our journey today was terrible. We moved only 1000 meters but dodged from floe to floe with great difficulty.

Still, he kept his good mood. He described the scenery in a later note: "Magnificent Venetian scene with canals between high hills on both sides, a water square with an ice fountain and steps down to the canals. Divine." But on September 17, Andrée admitted, "Our spot is not especially good" because snow started falling and their bodies began to suffer from the cold.

Andrée'sfinal entrywas on October 8, 1897:

Sleeping on the fast land felt good. It contrasted with the ocean ice drifting out where we constantly heard cracking, grinding, and noise. We needed driftwood and whale bones. We also had to move things when the weather allowed.

After college, Andrée, a mechanical engineer, traveled from Sweden to the United States to attend theThe Centennial Exposition happened.This event happened in Philadelphia. It showed many new technological ideas.

While traveling, Andrée set the stage for his ballooning future. He brought C. F. E. Björling's book, “Laws of the Winds.” Andrée wrote in his journal that the book gave him an idea that shaped his whole life: balloons, even without being dirigibles, could make long trips.

Abroad, he met John Wise. Wise was skilled in ballooning and agreed to take Andrée up. This started Andrée's passion for ballooning.

The expedition's balloon, named “The Eagle,” was built specifically for the crew’s polar goals.The balloon cost 50,000 Francs. The Royal Navy transported it.In Paris, France, they made the balloon from different silk fiber thicknesses. They varnished it with a protective cover to keep it waterproof. Andrée also fitted three guide ropes, per his orders, for steering and controlling the ship's speed.

After finishing, the balloon moved to the launch site with help from the Royal Navy. The Navy put it in a specially designed balloon house.The balloon house was five stories tall.Inside, the balloon inflated safely, protected by felt walls and a cloth roof.