On February 7, 1942, an amphibious Stearman aircraft embarked on the ARA 1 de Mayo cargo ship made the first Argentine flight over Antarctica.

On December 13, 1947, an Argentine Naval Aviation Douglas DC-4 piloted by Comodoro Gregorio Portillo flew over the Antarctic Circle in a 15 hours and 30 minutes flight.

In 2002, the Argentine Navy mounted an internal operation sending the icebreaker ARA Almirante Irizar to rescue the trapped supply vessel Magdalena Oldendorff.

In 2003, under the Decree Nº 207/2003 issued by the Executive Power of Argentina, the Instituto Antártico Argentino became a part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to the principles of its creation, the Instituto Antártico Argentino participates with its scientific, technical and administrative staff, in a wide range of national and international programmes for a better understanding of the Antarctic.

Scientists are trained and deployed on Argentine bases for researching on different fields of science, including Atmosphere, Biology, Oceanography, Weather, Chemistry, Ozone Layer, Global warming and CO2.