Season-round, self-propelled platforms to float Arctic research stations may appear 10 years from now, Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergei Donskoi told RIA Novosti.

"The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has repeatedly requested that construction of self-propelled platforms be included in the federal targeted investment program. If this request is approved, experimental platforms may start operating as soon as the mid-2020s," Mr. Donskoi noted.

The platform construction project, devised by experts from the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute and the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), is to be unveiled at the Arctic Days in Moscow Federal Arctic Forum, scheduled for November 19-21, 2015. Starting November 21, everyone will be able to see a 3D version of a Russian-made drifting platform at the Moscow Museum.

"Despite the relatively high cost of these projects, they will make it possible to conduct entirely different high-latitude research. I'd like to note that construction of these platforms will spur the development of new technologies and will help Russian shipyards operate at full capacity. The implementation of these projects will allow researchers to systematically obtain information from drifting objects," Mr. Donskoi stressed.