Antarctica and ice shelves south of 60° S for the purposes of the Treaty System. The treaty was signed by twelve countries including the Soviet Union (and later Russia), the United Kingdom, Argentina, Chile, Australia, and the United States. It set aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve, established freedom of scientific investigation and environmental protection, and banned military activity on Antarctica. This was the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War. In 1983 the Antarctic Treaty Parties began negotiations on a convention to regulate mining in Antarctica. A coalition of international organisations launched a public pressure campaign to prevent
First women to fly to Antarctica First women to fly to Antarctica The first women to fly to Antarctica were the American flight attendants Patricia (Pat) Hepinstall of Holyoke, Colorado and Ruth Kelley of Houston, Texas who were members of the crew on the Pan American flight which landed at the US McMurdo Station on October 15, 1957. The two women joined the flight in Christchurch, New Zealand, on the last leg of the flight from San Francisco. They received a warm welcome at the base despite misgivings by Rear-Adminal Dufek who had called for an all-male crew. The matter was however outside his jurisdiction. Although