1768-1771 As commander of the Endeavour, I sailed with a crew of scientists and sailors to Tahiti in the Pacific Ocean. Our mission was to see the planet Venus pass in front of the Sun to help astronomers measure the distance between Earth and the Sun. 1 also had a secret mission from the British Navy: to sail for a ‘new land’ at the bottom of the Earth. Afier Tahiti, we landed in New Zealand and 1 realised it was actually two islands. We also sailed up the coast of New Holland*, the land the Dutch explorers found in the 17th century. We didn't find the ‘new land’, but I made a lot of important maps on the journ — * now Australia 1772-1775 T returned to the sea with two ships, the Resolution and the Adventure. My crew and I sailed for months through thunderstorms, stormy seas and giant waves. We finally realised that there was no ‘new land’ where people could live, but we found a new place full of snow and ice. That place was Antarctica.