Chinese scientists are using unmanned aerial vehicles to gather site information for the country's first airport in the South Pole, during the country's 31st mission to the Antarctic continent.

The drone, made by Beihang University in Beijing, will be used to collect information such as ice temperatures and geological conditions of the ice sheet during the site inspection, as part of the ongoing South Pole expedition, which traveled to Antarctica aboard the Chinese research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong, or Snow Dragon.

Liang Jianhong, a professor with the university who is leading the drone project, said the drone is called White Shark and can receive signals from China's Beidou navigation satellite system and is equipped with an infrared thermometer, radar ranging equipment and an optical camera.