BY ENDURANCE, WE CONQUER

More than a century after it was lost, scientists discover Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance.

-  Rachel Kehoe 

In the control room aboard the vessel S.A. Agulhas II, Chad Bonin and a team of scientists stared intently at a screen. They were watching data pour in from the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) that scanned the depths of the Weddell Sea off the coast of Antarctica. The underwater drone had been running day and night for nearly two weeks. It was searching for what many thought would be too difficult to locate the Endurance. This lost ship had been captained by the legendary explorer Ernest Shackleton. It had been crushed by shifting ice floes over a century ago, after getting trapped in the Weddell Sea. Remarkably, Shackleton and his crew all managed to escape.

Now, after battling blizzards, drifting sea ice, and below-freezing temperatures, the Endurance22 Expedition was nearly out of time. In a few days, they had to return home.

Despite the approaching deadline, the team refused to give up hope. Bonin was the AUV supervisor for the expedition. "Every day I would walk on deck and say, "Today's the day," he told the website Reach the World. Then, on March 5, 2022, the team caught sight of what appeared to be a ship. "My first reaction was-Hah! We found it!" he said.

Before celebrating, the team needed evidence. The AUV was called back to the S.A. Agulhas II, where it was equipped with a high-resolution camera. Returning to the shipwreck, the drone captured detailed images of the sunken vessel. The 144-foot (44-m) wooden structure was found upright, resting 9,842 feet (3,008 m) below the surface of the sea. Indeed, it was the Endurance, in nearly perfect condition. It was the first time anyone had seen the ship in more than 106 years.

A Hero's Journey