See the wreck of Ernest Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ in stunning detail with this new 3D scan

Over the past century, Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance rests on the seafloor near Antarctica. Submerged in the frigid waters of the Weddell Sea, the famous ship sank after becoming stuck in ice floes in 1915.

Some experts have expressed concern that the wooden vessel could eventually deteriorate. But at least for now, it remains remarkably well preserved.

A recently released 3D digital scan shows that much of the ship is still intact, according to BBC News’ Rebecca Morelle and Alison Francis. Actually, Endurance looks much as it did when it sank on November 21, 1915. Items used daily by the crew, including dining plates, a boot, and a flare gun, are still easily recognizable among the wreckage protected.

The 3D model was created from more than 25,000 high-resolution images captured after the iconic ship was discovered in March 2022.

The digital scan was released last week to mark the debut of a new National Geographic documentary that explores the historic expedition and the search for the ship in 2022. Called Endurancethe film debuted at the London Film Festival on October 12. It will be available on Disney+ later this fall.

ENDURANCE | Official trailer | National Geographic Documentary Films

The documentary incorporates footage and photos captured during the expedition by Australian photographer Frank Hurley, who brought several cameras with him for the trip. Like the Endurance began to sink, Hurley jumped into the water to save his photographic equipment.

The filmmakers processed Hurley’s black-and-white images and sequences in color for the first time. They also used artificial intelligence to recreate the voices of crew members to “read” their own journal entries.

“It’s a new type of documentary,” says Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, who co-directed the film with her husband, Jimmy Chin, for Forbes“Tony Bradley.

Explore the Endurancevirtually

The new 3D scan offers a detailed, close-up look at the ship, which lies almost three kilometers below the surface. To create it, members of the expedition deployed underwater robots equipped with cameras. Experts later assembled the photos to produce a detailed model. Similar processes have been used to produce 3D scans of other famous shipwrecks, including the Titanic.

Scan shows all 144 feet Endurance from bow to stern, as well as the surrounding scene, including the grooves she formed in the seabed as she came to rest.

“The preservation is ridiculous,” says marine archaeologist Mensun Bound, exploration director of the Endurance22 expedition. Hollywood journalistIt’s Sean Kingsley. “You could always lean against the rails standing at the bow and look through the portholes into the inky black cabin where Shackleton slept.”

The 3D analysis also revealed several artifacts, including the flare gun that Hurley fired “in homage to the ship” as it sank, according to John Shears, the leader of the expedition to find the ship. Endurance.

“Hurley gets this flare gun, and he fires the flare gun into the air with a massive detonator,” Shears told BBC News. “And then in the newspaper he talks about putting it on the bridge. And here we are. We go back over 100 years later, and there’s this flare gun. Amazing.”

Additionally, analysis revealed a solitary boot that experts believe belonged to Shackleton’s second-in-command, Frank Wild. By zooming out, the digital replica also offers a glimpse of how the ice floe buckled and crushed the ship’s hull and masts. In the future, scientists could also use 3D scans to learn more about the geology of the seabed or the creatures that now live among the wrecks, according to BBC News.

The enduring appeal of Endurance

In 1914, Shackleton and a crew of 27 left England aboard the Endurance. Their goal? Cross Antarctica on foot from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea.

They arrived in Antarctica. However, in early 1915 the ship became stuck in ice floes. Shackleton and his men spent the next ten months waiting for spring, but the ice eventually twisted and crushed the ship beyond repair.

After the ship sank, the men spent five days at sea in lifeboats before reaching Elephant Island. They landed safely, but were still hundreds of miles from anyone who could help them. Shackleton decided to act. He and five men boarded a small whaling ship and sailed 800 miles across the open sea to South Georgia Island. All 28 men survived and Shackleton went down in the history books as a hero.

The ill-fated journey – and the rescue mission that followed – continues to fascinate to this day. The new documentary is just the latest in a long line of films, books and TV shows telling this story.

“Especially in an age when so many people are tethered to their devices, there is something compelling about the human drive to push the boundaries of what is possible,” Vasarhelyi told The London. Times“Rachel Halliburton. “There are so many moments in Shackleton’s story where you think, ‘No way!’