| Kunlun Station | |
| Native Name: | 昆仑站 |
| T: | 崑崙站 |
| Native Name Lang: | zh |
| Settlement Type: | Antarctic base |
| Flag Size: | 110px |
| Flag Border: | no |
| Mapsize: | 270px |
| Pushpin Map: | Antarctica |
| Pushpin Map Alt: | Location of Kunlun Station in Antarctica |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Kunlun Station in Antarctica |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 270 |
| Pushpin Relief: | yes |
| Coordinates: | -80.4171°N 77.1161°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  |
| Subdivision Type1: | Location in Antarctica |
| Subdivision Name1: | East Antarctica |
| Subdivision Type3: | Administered by |
| Subdivision Name3: | Polar Research Institute of China |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Elevation M: | 4,087 |
| Population As Of: | 2017 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Summer |
| Population Blank1: | 26 |
| Population Blank2 Title: | Winter |
| Population Blank2: | 0 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Type |
| Blank Info Sec1: | Seasonal |
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | Period |
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | Summer |
| Blank2 Name Sec1: | Status |
| Blank2 Info Sec1: | Operational |
| Blank Name Sec2: | Activities |
| Website: | Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration |
Kunlun Station is the southernmost of five Chinese research stations in Antarctica. When it is occupied during the summer, it is the second-southernmost research base in Antarctica, behind only the American Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station at the geographical South Pole. When Kunlun is not in operation, the year-round Russian Vostok Station is the second-southernmost base in Antarctica.
It is located at 4087 m above sea level on the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, making it the highest base in Antarctica.[2] It is only 7.3 km southwest of Dome A, the highest point on the Antarctic Plateau. The station was officially opened on January 27, 2009. Fully constructed the station is planned to cover an area of 558 m2. The main building, covering 236 m2, is planned erected in April 2009.[3]
The site is one of the coldest in the world, with temperatures occasionally reaching -80°C in the winter. It is indicated from satellite measurements that places nearby could reach a world record -90°C temperature.
In April 2012 the first of three Antarctica Schmidt telescopes (AST3) was installed at Kunlun Station. The other two were planned for installation in 2013 and 2014. A bigger optical telescope, Kunlun Dark Universe Survey Telescope (KDUST), is planned to be installed by 2025.
| Instrument Name | Aperture | Installation Year | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese Small Telescope Array (CSTAR) [4] | 0.145m | 2008 | CSTAR is an array of four Schmidt telescope with aperture of 14.5 cm, equipped with 1Kx1K CCD each. | |
| Antarctica Schmidt telescopes (AST3) | 0.5m | 2012–2014 | First of three AST3 telescopes was installed at the Antarctic Kunlun Station in April 2012.[5] | |
| Kunlun Dark Universe Survey Telescope (KDUST) | 2.5m | 2025 | KDUST is a 2.5 meter infrared optical telescope designed to detect and observe Earth-like planets in the Milky Way using infrared light.[6] | |
| Dome A Terahertz Explorer-5 (DATE5) | 5m | 2025 | DATE5 is a 5-meter telescope designed to detect light with longer wavelengths, which will allow astronomers to detect and observe nascent stars. | |
| Infrared optical telescope | 6-8m | 2020+ | ||
| New terahertz telescope | 15m | 2020+ |