Mr Rabenstein, your Antarctic expedition lasting several weeks ended with the sensational discovery of the wreck of Ernest Shackleton's Endurance at a depth of three kilometers.

What remains of this journey for the world now?

Our research while driving provided unique datasets.

Every snow sample and ice core from this remote area is important to advance our understanding of the polar regions.

Engineers also used their ship's pressure sensors to collect unique data on mechanical properties of the ship's performance.

An understanding of these properties should enable automatic route recommendations through the ice in the future.

The wreck find, on the other hand, ends a hundred-year search and at the same time continues a compelling story that brings children and adults closer to the polar regions.

It is inspired by Shackleton's personality, which shows that you can fail in your original goals - after all, he never reached the South Pole - and still be recognized for the merits of others.

Shackleton is celebrated because he dared a lot, but never pushed it so far that someone would have died - not a matter of course in polar expeditions at the time.

So Shackleton can also serve as a role model for founders like in our company - but I only became aware of that recently at his grave.

What successes were you able to record on the expedition with your ice monitoring team Drift+Noise?

We have done our part to bring the Agulhas II safely through the ice - even in the dark and in snowy conditions.

There is no glory in prevention, but we are proud that we were able to redefine what is known as tactical navigation in the ice.

Also thanks to my colleagues at DLR here on board, we enabled the bridge crew to use a satellite image like a road map through the ice.

With these navigational options, Shackleton would not have gone further into the southern Weddell Sea, where he ended up getting stuck.

The wreck search was the main objective of the expedition funded by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust.

Did you get concerned when the wreck had not been located in the study area even after almost three weeks?

A lot could have gone wrong if winter had come earlier.

When 80 percent of the area had been searched at the beginning of March, nervousness increased as to whether the rest would be manageable in the remaining time and whether the wreck was actually in the search area.

It was therefore a great relief when the underwater robot (AUV) finally discovered the endurance on March 5th.

How did you experience the find, which was made exactly one hundred years to the day after Shackleton's burial on March 5, 1922 on the South Atlantic island of South Georgia.

Fate?

I heard about the find at 8 p.m. in the auditorium.

Exploration Director Mensun Bound and Expedition Leader John Shears stepped in front of the assembled team and glassy-eyed, moved, announcing that the AUV team had found the Endurance this afternoon and are now busy filming in high definition.

Mensun shouted, "We can feel Shackleton's breath on the back of our necks!" and we clapped and cheered.

A moving moment.

But I think the special day is simply a coincidence, even if some people think that it can't be.

They stopped for a few hours on South Georgia on the way back to Cape Town and gathered around Shackleton's grave when they went ashore.

What for?

For a last respect and a nice, rounded end of the expedition with three dignified eulogies: The South African captain Knowledge Bengu said that we had now brought his ship back to the "boss", as Shackleton's crew used to call him.

Mensun Bound highlighted Shackleton's personality, and John Shears reminded that history sometimes repeats itself with war raging in Ukraine - the Endurance crew also returned home in Europe in 1916 during a war that shook everyone.

That got under my skin.

I can't wait to finally get home to my family after these six exciting weeks.

Tamara Worzewski asked the questions

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