(June 1, 2018) GOBI, Mongolia — The Explorers Club Hong Kong Chapter (ECHK) together with InfinitiMotor Company, will begin an expedition on June 5 in the Gobi Desert to revisit the historic expedition of Roy Chapman Andrews and identify new dinosaur fossil sites. In the 1920s, Andrews discovered fossilized dinosaur eggs on the first archaeological mission to use motorized vehicles, which allowed him to more efficiently access remote terrain in Mongolia.  

Using a fleet of InfinitiSUVs, combined with Drone LiDar technology, the team — comprised of paleontologists, archaeologists and geologists — will be able to survey an area heretofore impossible to cover efficiently.

The Drone LiDar will aid the team’s search for specific geological markers. The team expects to find a trove of new sites that can be unearthed over the next decades. 

Commenting on the expedition, Michael Barth, founder and chairman, The Explorers Club Hong Kong Chapter said: “The Gobi expedition marks roughly the 100-year anniversary of Andrews’ historic discovery of the first-ever nest of fossilized dinosaur eggs, which not only proved that dinosaurs were reptilian, but opened up Mongolia for future discoveries.

"Our expedition will commemorate the last one hundred years of dinosaur finds, and, together with Mongolia’s Institute of Paleontology and Geology (IPG), set up the next millennium for untold scientific discoveries in the Gobi. Our collaboration with Infiniti is symbolic of what ties us together — a desire to challenge ourselves in the pursuit and use of new scientific knowledge.” 

Infiniti has a 30-year history of technological firsts, pushing boundaries and empowering people to find their next frontier. Like The Explorers Club, Infiniti is  insatiably curious, technologically forward and pushes beyond existing boundaries in pursuit of new discoveries like the VC-Turbo. 

“The Explorers Club is known for its famous firsts: first to the North Pole, the South Pole, the top of Everest, the bottom of the ocean, and first to the moon,” said Will Roseman, executive director of The Explorers Club. “We are very excited to partner with Infiniti, which also has many famous firsts, including the world’s first production variable compression engine in its all new QX50. We share a passion for discovery and for scientific advancement and we are all looking forward to seeing the results of this historic expedition.”
 
During the 20-day expedition, a 35-person team will traverse more than 1,000 miles of Gobi terrain in Infiniti SUVs, including the all-new 2019 QX50. They will follow much of Andrews’ 1920s routes, including The Flaming Cliffs, where Andrews made his first discoveries; the town of Anda, an important site for dinosaur fossils; and chart new terrain inaccessible to Andrews’ original expeditions.

Andrews’ expedition was one of the first to carry the Expedition Flag for The Explorers Club, one of only 202 flags that the club loans out to expeditions that hold the promise of making new scientific discoveries. Flags have since been carried to summit of Mt. Everest, to the deepest point of the ocean, the Challenger Deep in the Marianna trench, and to the surface of the moon. Following in these illustrious footsteps, the Gobi team has been awarded the signal honor of carrying The Explorers Club Flag #179 on their expedition.  

The expedition supports the Institute of Paleontology and Geology (IPG) Mongolian Academy of Sciences, which catalogs and interprets the archaeological and geological significance of the area. This is one of the first major expeditions in the Gobi to rely on the scientific leadership of an all-Mongolian paleontology team. 

The team will document every step of their journey, sharing video footage and photography once the expedition is complete. You can follow updates on The Explorers Club Hong Kong Chapter and InfinitiMotor Company social media channels for more information.