Expedition Solo 100 is a science-led expedition. For the first time, research and technology can be tested in minus temperatures during a prolonged, solo project.

Professor Julienne Stroeve, Assistant Professor Kristina Brown, Professor Stephan Harrison and Professor Feiyue (Fei) Wang are all leading figures in arctic climate research. The uniqueness of the journey is that the snow and ice that Mark will be travelling over for 2000 km is pure and untouched by any other human beings. This will be a rare opportunity to collate depth measurements of the ice, observations on the terrain and pure snow samples will be invaluable data for the scientists research.

Isolation in the Arctic means pushing the known boundaries of energy storage technology. Alongside The University of Warwick, Expedition Solo 100 will test advanced battery technology under the stress of extreme cold and wind.

Along the route, Mark will use resources like wind and movement to maintain charge of critical expedition devices by harnessing trickle charging to maintain a thermal pod for ambient storage under extreme conditions.

Led by principal engineer Andrew Moore, associate professor Dr. Melanie Loveridge Assistant Professor, Dr. Petr Denissenko, Lead Engineer Dr. Sylvia Konaklieva, Graduate Engineer Myles Ingand project manager Lee-Rose Jordon.

The University of Warwick have partnered with Expedition Solo 100 to study the boundaries of battery storage in the Arctic, the results of which could be used to support other long range projects outside of polar exploration in the future.

Intimately understanding nutrition is key to endurance expeditions. However, no documented human being has ever spent 100 days on a 2000 km route alone in the Arctic. Creating a daily food package to meet the needs of a lone human in extreme conditions is therefore critical research.

Based on Mark’s previous polar exploration at the South Pole, specialist dietitian Ellen Reynolds (RJC) calculated the expedition food required to meet 6,000 to 8,000 calories per day over the course of 100 days—while keeping the weight and volume to a minimum in order to pack it onto Mark’s sledges.

Prior to the expedition Mark also worked closely with Resilient Nutrition - together they looked at the main meals supplied by Expedition Food and the added support by Ellen. With the idea of keeping the weight and volume to a minimum a programme of products were added to increase Mark’s daily performance on ice as well as his post expedition health plan.

Solo 100 expedition is not an endurance race. The idea is to sustain a bodies performance whilst living and moving in a tremendously cold and sometimes unforgiving environment.

When calculating the food you need to take into account the weight, volume and effectiveness of the product to give the body the best possible way to perform.

The clothing and equipment have been chosen through experience of being on long expeditions in harsh conditions. Some of Marks equipment might not work for others but he has believe in items such as the gloves, cookers and bindings. An old saying in the military was, “used in anger” which means it’s been tried and tested.

When Mark was given his Elliot Brown watch the company they said, “Don’t look after it!” which shows the confidence they have in their product. Even when designing the pull tags on clothing and the suspension cords on the harness provided by Hang6, thought and dedication for maximum performance was applied.

Take a look at the full list of items here

Solo 100 is the result of a six-year filming project that began in 2016 as Mark and the team approached the Geographic North Pole in the hottest season ever recorded.

The raw footage was narrated by acclaimed actor Tom Hardy and they then linked up with his production company Hardy, Son and Baker. The following years saw Mark filming with anti-poaching teams in Africa, dog teams in Alaska and on Mount Everest in 2019 where he linked to over 1.2 million children world wide.

Dustoff films are the producers of Expedition Solo 100 and in March 2024 will film him being flown North across the remoteness of the Canadian high arctic. They will capture him disappearing into the freezer for 100 days - whilst Mark will film the challenge itself they will work covertly with drones to capture the loneliness and enormity of the area he will travel through.

In the end the viewer will see a six-year journey designed to inspire people to re- connect with the environment and educate the need for modern day exploration.

Solo begins when Mark heads out on ice for his 100 days alone. Behind the attempt itself are a strong dedicated team that can see opportunities and use their own skills to enhance the project.

These are people who operate around the world in their own fields of expertise. Climate scientists focused on the polar regions who are working with Mark in research such as pure snow samples, daily observations and depth readings. A sports nutritionist who has increased the calorie intake per day with a healthy perspective working alongside the food organisations supporting Mark.

A podcaster and esteemed writer who will connect Marks journey with the outside world with daily podcasts - a local Inuit guide and hunter who will add valuable ground information and support, an expedition strategists who is also collecting this years satellite images to determine a safe route for 2024, a Doctor who is putting together the medical pack, looking after medical concerns on the expedition and is also working on research into mental health and how that affects you when your alone for so long and finally a central coordinator who will be the contact person whilst Mark is on ice.