Shackleton’s ship lost 100 years ago now seen in 3D | Technology News

Victorian explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton’s lost ship can be seen in incredible detail for the first time.

The Endurance sank in 1915 and lies 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) below the surface, at the bottom of Antarctica’s Weddell Sea.

The wreckage was lost for more than a century before being found in 2022 – and now stunning new images have revealed the ship in 3D detail.

A flare, dishes and even a lost boot are visible on the Endurance’s deck thanks to digital scanning of the wreckage, comprised of more than 25,000 high-resolution images.

This boot could have belonged to Frank Wild, Shackleton’s second-in-command, and the flare could even be the one mentioned in the crew’s diaries.

Dr John Shears, who led the expedition that found the Endurance, explained: ‘Frank Hurley (the expedition photographer) receives this flare and fires it into the air with a huge detonator as a tribute to the ship.

“And then in the diary he talks about putting it on deck. And there we are. We go back more than 100 years later, and there’s that flare, incredible.

Each of these details tells part of the day-to-day story of the crew on board the ship.

The digital scan was launched as part of a new documentary, called Endurance, which will be shown in cinemas.

The scan shows how well preserved the wreck is, and although the ship was crushed by ice, the structure itself is largely intact.

You can even see grooves carved into the sediment as the ship skidded along the seabed.

Shackleton’s descendants say the Endurance will never be increased, and visiting the wreck in such a remote part of the globe is extremely challenging.

But Nico Vincent of Deep Ocean Search, which developed the technology for the 3D scans, said this digital replica offers new ways to study the wreckage.

He told the BBC: “It’s absolutely fabulous. The wreck is almost intact as if it sank yesterday.

‘This is a really great opportunity that we can offer for the future.’

Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, also known as Ernie, was one of the leading figures in the exploration of Antarctica during the Victorian era.

He led three British expeditions to Antarctica, but the Endurance mission was struck by disaster.

The expedition hoped to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic continent, but the ship became trapped in the ice and ended up sinking.

Shackleton and his crew spent months in makeshift ice camps before salvaging lifeboats to reach inhospitable Elephant Island.

The captain and five other crew members took an 800-mile open boat trip to South Georgia, where they were able to organize the rescue of the remainder of the Endurance’s crew.

Although the expedition was unsuccessful, it is still hailed as a great feat of exploration, especially since all of the crew survived.

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