Operación 90

[2] It was named after the target: 90 degree South latitude point (the geographic South Pole) The operation had been originally conceived by General Hernán Pujato in the early 1950s but could not be carried out due a lack of forward bases and icebreakers[3] The plan was revived in 1961,[3] and finally approved in July 1962[4] Preparations began in 1963 and suffered multiple mishaps, including the loss of a Douglas C-47 plane, which crashed while scouting possible routes; the crew was rescued a few days later.

Colonel Jorge Edgar Leal, chief of the General Staff's Antarctic Division, was chosen to lead the expedition.

[3][4] There was also a political goal: to show that Argentina could exert sovereignty on a portion of Antarctica that the country claims as its own[4] (See Territorial claims in Antarctica) Leal's team departed on six snowcat vehicles (believed to be Tucker Sno-Cats based on the spelling used) from General Belgrano Army Base on October 26, 1965.

[5] The group received a hero's welcome upon their return to Buenos Aires and were congratulated personally by President Arturo Umberto Illia.

Leal was promoted to General a few years later[4] Despite his success, he was pushed out of the military by General Alejandro Agustín Lanusse,[4] and spent some time in prison due to his opposition to Operation Soberanía and the Malvinas War[6] Before leaving the Amundsen base, Leal and his men were given diplomas recognizing them as members for life of the "Penguin Emperor's Court", a long-running inside joke among Antarctic explorers.