A23a facts for kids

A23a is a large tabular iceberg which calved from the Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf in 1986. It was then stuck on the sea bed for many years but then started moving in 2020. Its area is about 3,900 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi) which made it one of the largest icebergs in the world until it was temporarily surpassed in size by A76.

In November 2023, A23a was tracked moving past the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and headed toward the Southern Ocean.

The base Druzhnaya 1 was placed on this iceberg, until it calved. Subsequently, a rescue mission was started in 1987 and ultimately moved/renamed the base to Druzhnaya 3.