1928. Umberto Nobile, the Italian polar explorer, is lost. On second thought, piloting a zeppelin to the North Pole might not have been the smartest idea.

Nobile's airship, "Italia", crashed somewhere in the Arctic Ocean. He and his crew are trying to survive the fiercest of conditions. Norwegians, Italians, Russians, Swedes, Finns are all trying to rescue the lost explorers. Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole, disappears himself on one such rescue mission.

Almost a month passes before Nobile is spotted. The Russians send an icebreaker, led by explorer Rudolf Samoylovich. Those from Nobile's crew who are still alive are rescued.

Nobile lives for 50 more years. Samoylovich doesn't last more than ten, as he is put to death in a Stalinist purge.

Nobile is forever remembered as one of Arctic pioneers. Samoylovich? Well, if you ever venture to the desolate, uninhabited Severnaya Zemlya archipelago, one of its smaller islands carries Samoylovich's name.

Here's to a true Arctic hero.