DX expedition heads to Heard Island

A group of intrepid radio enthusiasts and researchers is bound for one of Australia’s most remote outposts, Heard Island, in the Southern Ocean.

The 14-member VK0EK radio amateur team is part of a scientific and communications mission, the goals of which are to discover new species and test HF communications technology. The expedition hopes to set up six stations on the 80- and 40-metre bands.

Heard Island is approximately 4000 kilometres south of mainland Australia. Its proximity to the South Pole and rocky, barren landscape make it virtually uninhabitable. The island’s key feature is the massive, active volcano dubbed Big Ben — 2745 metres high — which has erupted as recently as 2013.

Meanwhile, thousands of kilometres away in the Indian Ocean, another DX expedition is underway. The FT4JA DX voyage is bound for Juan De Nova, a small strip of sand about six kilometres long squeezed between the continent of Africa and the island of Madagascar. This uninhabited French territory’s remote location means it currently ranks as number six on the DXCC’s most wanted list.