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The British National Antarctic Expedition—known as the Discovery Expedition after the ship Discovery —was the brainchild of Sir Clements Markham, president of the Royal Geographical Society , and had been many years in preparation.[26] Led by Robert Falcon Scott , a Royal Navy torpedo lieutenant lately promoted commander,[27] the expedition had objectives that included scientific and geographical discovery.[28]Although Discovery was not a Royal Navy unit, Scott required the crew, officers and scientific staff to submit to the conditions of the Naval Discipline Act, meaning that the ship and expedition were run on Royal Navy lines.[29] Shackleton accepted this approach, even though his own background and instincts

 favoured a different, more informal style of leadership.[30] His particular duties were listed as: "In charge of sea-water analysis. Ward-room caterer. In charge of the holds, stores, and provisions [...] He also arranges the entertainments."[31]iscovery departed from London's East India Docks on 31 July 1901,

 arriving at the Antarctic coast, via Madeira , Cape Town and New Zealand, on 9 January 1902.[32] After landing, Shackleton took part in an experimental balloon flight on 4 February.[33] He also participated, with the scientists Edward A. Wilson and Hartley T. Ferrar , in the first sledging trip from the expedition's winter quarters in McMurdo Sound , a journey which established a safe route on to the Great Ice Barrier .[34] Confined to the iced-in Discovery throughout the Antarctic winter of 1902, Shackleton edited the expedition's magazine the South Polar Times ,[35] a regular publication that kept everyone onboard entertained.[36] According to steward Clarence Hare , Shackleton was "the most popular of the officers among the crew, being a good mixer",[37] though claims that this represented an unofficial rivalry to Scott's leadership are unsupported.[38]

Scott chose Shackleton to accompany Wilson and himself on the expedition's southern journey, a march southwards to achieve the highest possible latitude in the direction of the South Pole. This was not a serious attempt on the Pole, although the attainment of a high latitude was of great importance to Scott, and the inclusion of Shackleton indicated a high degree of personal trust.[38] [39] The party set out on 2 November 1902. Scott later wrote that the march was "a combination of success and failure".[40] They reached a record Farthest South latitude of 82°17′ S, beating the previous record established in 1900 by Carsten Borchgrevink .[a] [41]