Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 October 2009
The slow-motion collapse of the claim of Robert E. Peary to have discovered the North Pole raises the question: if Peary was not the first man to stand at the North Pole, who was? The answer appears to be the 24 members of a then-secret Soviet expedition who landed three airplanes on the Earth's axis in April 1948. They were able to make scientific observations during their three-day stay while battling cracking ice. This paper includes interviews with Pavel Senko, who believes he may be the only surviving member of the expedition.