Students from several Russian universities will go to the Polesie State Radiation-Ecological Reserve — the Belarusian part of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exclusion zone. The expedition will take place from April 8 to 12 with the participation of reserve staff. The organizer is the student expeditionary corps "Arctic Team", the base university of which is RTU MIREA.
Participants will conduct scientific observations aimed at studying the effect of radiation background on the psycho-emotional state of a person. Neuroassessment will be used in the work — a method that allows comparing a subjective assessment of well-being with objective psychophysiological indicators.
The Polesie State Radiation-Ecological Reserve was established in July 1988 on the territory of the Bragin, Narovlyansky and Khoiniki districts of the Gomel region, which were most affected after the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The area of the reserve exceeds 216 thousand hectares. There is no economic activity in this territory, and access is restricted for free visits.
The Polesie State Radiation-Ecological Reserve is an important platform for scientific research. Here we can study how the ecosystem and humans recover after extreme exposure. Our task is to conduct real scientific measurements using neuroassessment, to assess the psycho-emotional state of participants in conditions that cannot be simulated in a regular laboratory. This is an important experience for science and for the guys themselves, who are learning to maintain clarity of thought in an unusual environment.
During the expedition, participants, together with reserve staff, will conduct field research. Special attention will be paid to risk perception, including the level of stress when staying in an area with residual radioactive contamination.
Our task is to understand how the functional and psycho-emotional state of a person changes in a complex field environment. To do this, we use neuroassessment: we compare the subjective assessment of well-being with objective psychophysiological indicators that we record using wearable neurotechnologies.
The expedition to the Chernobyl zone is aimed at obtaining data on the effect of radiation background on the psycho-emotional state of a person in real conditions. The research is carried out outside the laboratory, which allows recording the body's reactions in a natural environment.
The results obtained are planned to be used to develop methods for monitoring the condition of specialists working in extreme and potentially dangerous conditions.
The student expeditionary corps "Arctic Team" unites more than 1.5 thousand students from 116 universities and 49 regions of Russia. In 2025, project participants conducted more than 120 expeditions, including scientific and environmental missions.