After 40 days and having passed through the ports of Salvador de Bahia and Ushuaia, the Hesperides is in Antarctica

According to the Spanish Navy, BIO Hesperides is carrying out its XXII Antarctic Campaign, which is included in the XXX Spanish Antarctic Campaign. The Antarctic Campaigns are coordinated by the Spanish Polar Committee (CPE) and are part of the State Plan for Scientific, Technical and Innovation Research, under the responsibility of the State Secretary for R & D & i of MINECO. Activities in Antarctica are carried out within the framework of the rules of the Antarctic Treaty System. The Campaign began on December 12, when the transit to the area began. The ship has made logistical scales in Salvador de Bahia (Brazil) between 27 and 30 December, and in Ushuaia (Argentina) between 13 and 16 January, before setting a course for the South Shetland Islands. At the end it will be emphasized in the city of Santos (Brazil), and after a rest of the endowment, the transit to Cartagena will begin, with arrival scheduled on 24 May 2017. The personnel involved in the campaign reach a total of 62 people from the endowment, and about 220 including researchers, technical staff, and MCS authorized to board (TVE- 2, La Sexta, Editorial Turner, and Valentín Carrera). The Campaign will end with the southern summer in early April, and once the return transit is over, the Hesperides will arrive in Cartagena on May 24.

During the Antarctic Campaign, the Hesperides will carry out the following research projects:
- Diving in polar waters, chemical ecology and marine invertebrates.
- Geomorphology and Geodynamics of the South Shetland Islands.
- Precision of the GALILEO Positioning System. IHM.
- Study of invasive species in Antarctica.
- Tardigrad study. Collaboration with Colombia.

In addition, the Hesperides will also support the BAE Gabriel de Castilla (Decepción Island) and Juan Carlos I (Livingston Island) and the projects that are carried out there. Finally, between the end of March and the beginning of April it will proceed to close the aforementioned BAE's. The following projects will also be carried out during the return transit:
- Study of the sedimentary dynamics of the Beagle Canal (1 week).
- Project on marine flows in the Beagle Canal and the confluence waters between Brazil and the Falkland Islands (2 weeks).