Failed Expeditions From Around The World
By Aaron Love
1 year ago
Titan Submarine, 2023
Image Source: Reddit
You were probably expecting to see this expedition feature on this list, especially as it is the most recent failure to have hit the headlines; everyone knew about this one as it had pretty much taken over the news. 5 people unfortunately lost their lives as a result of some technical failures, design problems and terrible navigational problems. I mean, before sending people to the bottom of the ocean you'd think they'd have been able to create a hub that wouldn't collapse under the pressure. It was even steered with a games controller. Jesus.Titanic, 1912
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Although the Titanic was meant to be one of the greatest cruisers to have ever sailed the seas at the time around 1912, it was set up for disaster before it had even set sail for the US in the first place. A number of issues obviously arose after the ship collided with an Iceberg during its trip and it's poor build meant that it began flooding much easier than a massive cruise ship should have. Besides this, not having enough lifeboats and ignoring iceberg warnings caused around 1500 people to lose their lives during the ships failed trip.The Apollo 1 Disaster, 1967
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Before man managed to make it to the moon (or so they say!) humans had a number of failed efforts to make it to space including the disastrous Apollo 1 mission back in 1967, 2 years before Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong took the first human steps on the moon. During a test launch around a month before the actual launch date, even though there was no fuel on board, an electrical fire broke out and the three astronauts inside ended up being burned alive as the hatch was unable to be opened from the outside.The Soyuz 1 Disaster, 1967
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Just 3 months after the Apollo 1 disaster, the Soviets had there very own disaster during the space race themselves. In fact, they actually suffered the first human fatality as a result of space flight after Vladimir Komarov crashed to earth following issues in orbit. There wasn't enough energy being provided to the space craft and so the mission was aborted. Unfortunately however, the spacecrafts parachutes didn't deploy and the entire craft plummeted to earth violently leaving absolutely no chance for survival.The Challenger Explosion, 1986
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Continuing the theme of failed space expeditions, one of the most recognised space failure was the US' Challenger space shuttle disaster which was shown on TV around the world during 1986. Just over a minute after the space craft had launched it broke apart and ended up crashing down in to the Atlantic Ocean where all 7 astronauts were found to have died. It turns out that NASA had made a massive error in allowing the ship to launch as they were already aware cold temperatures could damage the shuttle.Mount Everest Disaster, 1996
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One of the more recent expeditions to have failed on this list was the period of 2 days between the 10th and 11th of May 1996 when a huge group of people ended up losing their lives as they attempted to reach the summit of the largest mountain on Earth. Climbing Everest is dangerous as it is, but all of the people in the image above ended up being caught in a blizzard atop the mountain. The worst part about the disaster, besides the deaths, is that they all still remain on the mountain through to this day.Amelia Earhart's Last Flight, 1937
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Amelia Earhart became a worldwide name following her disappearance back in 1937, although she had already broken countless records and had already achieved fame before her fatal trip. The thing was, she wasn't bothered about being famous, she just wanted to keep flying and doing the thing she loved the most. She set off in 1937, alongside her co-pilot Fred Noonan on a trip around the entirety of the globe. Somewhere along the journey, around New Guinea they lost all contact and the famous plane has still yet to be found to this day.Laika The Dog, 1957
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You're probably all aware of Laika the space dog, she has been idolised in pop culture history pretty much since the moment the soviets sent her up to space on the Sputnik 2 spacecraft back in 1957. The dog was the first living species sent to space and she actually survived for 6 days in space before the oxygen on the spacecraft ran out. Ultimately, she was part of the incredible space race that eventually saw humans reach space and eventually landed on the moon (or so they say if you're inclined to think that way!).Alison Hargreaves, 1995
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Alison Hargreaves was one badass of a woman, she became infamous for climbing the North Face of the Eiger WHILST she was carrying her baby in her stomach. Yes, she went mountain climbing whilst she was 6 months pregnant and succeeded! Not just that, but she managed to hike up Mount Everest alone and without oxygen too! She made it her mission to climb the three largest mountains without aid, but upon her descent from K2 she was caught in a storm and unfortunately lost her life before she could reach her goal aged just 33.Peng Jiamu, 1980
Image Source: Explorers Web
This is probably the most recent disappearance of a famous 'explorer' as in 1980 Peng Jiamu, a famous Chinese biologist disappeared out of nowhere during an expedition through the Chinese Lop Nor desert. Things had seemingly been going fine for the first week, but one morning, after leaving a note suggesting he was going out to get water, Peng never returned to his camp. Most scientist suggested it was very likely that he had been buried by a sandstorm during his walk around the desert in search for some water. Scary!The Franklin Expedition, 1845,1846
Image Source: Reddit
The Franklin expedition set off in May of 1845 on the hunt to find the north-west passage, a supposed route that explorers had theorised must exist that would lead through both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The expedition was made up of two ships both titled under their royal names, the HMS Terror and the HMS Erebus. Both of these ships left with more than 100 men between them, although as you might have expected not a single one of them managed to survive the trip. Both of the ships were found sunk at the bottom of the Queen Maud Gulf (Canada) within 2 years of one another between 2014 and 2016.The Sea Dragon Expedition, 1939
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Richard Halliburton, pictured above was already a well-known adventurer before he set off on the Sea Dragon expedition, having climbed Mount Olympus and swimming the entire length of the Panama Canal. He intended to sail a Chinese Junk ship (essentially a sail boat) across the Pacific Ocean all the way to San Francisco in an attempt to appear at the Golden Gate International Exposition. Trial runs showed the ship wasn't particularly strong but he still went ahead with the expedition, later losing all contact after entering typhoon weather.The Polaris Expedition, 1871-1873
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During this period of time there was a huge race on for people to become the first group to finally reach the North Pole, this had become THE place to get to as it would ensure you would become a household name at the time. Surprisingly, only one man actually lost their lives as a result of this failed expedition and it wasn't the cold or illness that got to him. Instead, its actually believed that he was poisoned by the other members of the group who didn't agree with how he was leading the group. They had to be rescued soon after they wrecked on the coast of Greenland. Great friends eh?S.A. Andree Expedition, 1897
Image Source: Atlas Obscura
This is one of the weirdest and potentially most stupid attempts of an expedition to the North Pole as just before the turn of the century. Instead of taking a ship to the North Pole, Solomon Andree decided he would try and use his trusty Hydrogen Balloon to fly there alongside two of his friends. Although they managed to reach the arctic, they were unable to take the necessary items with them and they died within three weeks of their arrival. Scientists have claimed this probably had something to do with their poor equipment and potentially contracting diseases from the polar bears they had hunted and eaten.The Donner Party, 1846
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Back in 1846, George Donner and James Reed decided to set off to California in a wagon train in what resulted in one of the most tragic and worst planned trips to be featured in this list. 87 people originally set off as part of the expedition but by the end only 48 were left and 32 of those were children. They were all very much malnourished and suffered horrific psychological problems based on what they had witnessed. The group became trapped in snow, ran out of food and had to turn to cannibalism in order to survive the incident.The Darien Scheme, 1690's
Image Source: BBC
Back in the 1690's, Scotland was going through a period of VERY poor economic struggles and so their governing rulers decided to hatch a (mis-thought) plan to try and increase their funds. They planned to start a whole new colony on the island of Panama DESPITE the fact that it was actually already owned and claimed by the Spanish Empire. They sent more than 1000 people away, most of which had no idea how to create a settlement, they had no fresh water, no sellable items and no food. Only 300 people managed to survive to return home!The Jeannette Expedition, 1879-1881
Image Source: The Siberian Times
Following the failed Polaris expedition to the North Pole, nothing seemed to stop people continue trying to make the trip to the icy cap of our earth. Less than 7 years after Polaris failed the USS Jeanette also set off from the US in order to make the exact same journey. Although this crew didn't fall out with one another, they still failed to reach their final goal after their ship became trapped in ice. They didn't even manage to get back home, instead having to tow all of their equipment for over 500 miles towards Siberia before they found human life! Unfortunately 20 men died during their travels.Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914
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You've probably heard of Robert Scott's trip to the North Pole in 1910 (we'll get to him next) , the captain of the Australasian expedition was invited to join them but chose instead to complete his own trip. Although the trip originally seemed to be going (somewhat) swimmingly, it eventually crumbled. Douglas Mawson travelled more than 100 miles away from his camp, pulled by a dog sled with two of his fellow explorers. Unfortunately, one of them fell down a crevasse along with most of their food (and the sled) and they were forced to walk (without food) for 100 miles to get back to camp. He returned almost a month later in horrific health!The Terra Nova Expedition, 1910
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Essentially every single part of this expedition failed massively, Robert Scott basically screwed himself and his crew before they had even set off for the South Pole back in 1910. He chose to use ponies instead of dogs because they were 'grander', ( all the ponies died VERY quickly) he used motorised sledges invented by one man, but then chose to leave him at home (they broke and no one knew how to fix them). He also took one extra man than he had planned for, meaning they never had enough food either! All members of the trip died, unsurprisingly, 2 years after they first set off.The Narvaez Expedition, 1527
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Of the 600 men to set sail as part of the Narvaez expedition, the man above, Cabeza De Vaca was the single survivor and he basically lived a real life movie! They attempted to sail to what we now know as America but ended up shipwrecking around the north of Florida. They continued to march through the land aimlessly fighting and wasting their lives in battles against the natives and once they tried to escape found themselves wrecked in yet another storm. Cabeza managed to survive both shipwrecks and then trekked on foot for more than 7 years towards Mexico, all whilst being enslaved along the way.The Cambyses Army, 524 BC
We're going back a long way for this expedition, all the way back to the initial Persian Empire. Back then, Cambyses II decided to send an ungodly amount of troops into the Egyptian Desert, all for the sake of trying to destroy something known as the Oracle of Ammon, the problem was they actually didn't know where this was or if it even existed. None of them were ever seen again, or so historical documents have suggested, but a MASSIVE human grave was found in the supposed area very recently back in 2009. I wonder if that really is them?
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