Galathea 3 at the seven seas

The Galathea 3 Expedition - the most extensive Danish research expedition at sea for more than 50 years - was setting sail in August 2006 to circumvent the Earth as a platform for Danish research projects.

Through www.galathea.nu and the media, every Dane was able to follow the expedition and look over the shoulders of the researchers on board the expedition vessel. Especially targeted schoolchildren of all ages as well as university and college students, who could link up to the expedition on the Internet and make it part of their natural science studies.

The Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation support ed the Galathea 3 Expedition and HRH Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark  was patron of the expedition.

Hundreds of scientists applied for participation in the expedition and about 60 were selected.

Bertel Haarder, Minister for Education, was particularly excited about the possibilities of relaying news of the expedition on a continuous basis via a direct satellite link from the vessel and via the Internet.

He recalls how, as a young boy, he watched the movie about the Galathea 2 Expedition, "Jorden rundt på 80 minutter" ("Around the world in 80 Minutes"), based on small-gauge films.

Today, everyone can follow an expedition in real time.

"It's a chance of enabling lots of schoolchildren and students to gain concrete insight into a research project," Bertel Haarder said.

The expedition is deeply rooted in history. King Christian VIII commissioned the first Galathea Expedition in 1845, and 1950 saw the better known Galathea 2 Expedition. Both expeditions were circumnavigations of the globe, yielding remarkable scientific results.

Galathea 3 followed up on research carried out during the two first expeditions and visit ed places where they anchored - including  two former Danish tropical colonies.

Galathea 3 was in the pipeline since March 2000. Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, Denmark's largest daily newspaper, conceived the project.

The Danish Expedition Foundation has planned, financed and supported the expedition. Funds came from several sources, for instance other foundations, private sector companies, commercial activities and the government.