China's domestically developed Snow Leopard 6×6 wheeled vehicle has completed more than 10,000 kilometers of testing and validation missions in the Antarctic interior, filling a long-standing technological gap in China's polar-land wheeled vehicles, state broadcaster CCTV News reported on Tuesday.

During a 75-day mission, the full-time six-wheel-drive vehicle was comprehensively tested across five types of terrain — sea ice, gravel, soft snow, hard snow and solid ice — with key indicators such as mobility, stability and safety being fully verified.

Compared with traditional tracked vehicles commonly used in polar expeditions, which average at around 20 kilometers per hour on soft and hard snow, the Snow Leopard achieved an average speed of 28 kilometers per hour on soft snow and 42 kilometers per hour on hard snow, while maintaining a stable top speed of 65 kilometers per hour on solid ice, the report noted.

The tests were carried out during China's 42nd Antarctic expedition, during which the Snow Leopard successfully completed fast inter-station travel, and rapid task deployment and rescue respond, which largely enhance Chinese Antarctic expedition's mobility, capacity and efficiency.

According to Xinhua News Agency, China's 42nd Antarctic expedition set sail from Shanghai on November 1, 2025. In addition to testing new equipment, the expedition also plans to conduct scientific drilling experiments in lakes deep in the Antarctic inland ice sheet.

"Using domestically built hot-water and thermal-melting drill systems, we will carry out clean drilling and sampling through ice more than 3,000 meters thick," said Wei Fuhai, leader and chief scientist of the expedition team.