Voyage on a nuclear-powered icebreaker ship to the North Pole

The ultimate destination for me is outer space, but till it becomes a reality my next best bet is going on the nuclear-powered Russian icebreaker ship ‘Fifty Years of Victory’ to the North Pole in the ice-packed Arctic ocean in June or July! Regular passenger ships would get crushed in the icy waters even before reaching half way. This modified, no-frills ship can carry around 100 passengers and has helicopter flights arranged from the deck of the ship for an aerial view of the North Pole, its polar bears and other wildlife. It’s rare and more expensive than other voyages and 2015 is the last year that this voyage will be organised; it seems that other cargo ship convoys maybe more profitable. If this trip doesn’t work out, I’ll do a sea and land trip to see the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) from Norway or Iceland. The third plan is a voyage to see the total solar eclipse from the Faroe Islands near Norway.

Image of the Russian icebreaker ‘Fifty Years of Victory’  by Olivier Staiger

Why do I want to pursue these adventurous travel plans?
For an avid amateur astronomer like me, it’s worth seeking out astronomy-based voyages or land trips to observe and photograph astronomical activities or celestial events as they take place LIVE, instead of watching
them on TV.

As told to Pooja Bhula