Late in his preparations, De Long received orders from Secretary Thompson that, before proceeding with his own Arctic mission he should enquire along the Siberian coast for news of Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld and his ship Vega.
Senere i hans forberedelser modtog De Long ordrer fra sekretær Thompson, at han, før han fortsatte med sin egen arktiske mission, skulle spørge langs den sibiriske kyst for nyheder om Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld og hans skib Vega.