Today, we had another busy day, having a solar power tutorial, snowmobile operation lecture and preparation for the overnight “shake down” trip tomorrow. Under the midnight sun in the Antarctic summer, solar power is a definitely powerful source except on snow-storm days (See the first picture). For the six week life in the bare ice fields, yellow tents are going to be our sole sweet home. The tent is called Scott’s tent which is named after the British Captain Scott who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions, back in early 1900’s. We checked the tent to see if everything was O.K. without any holes or scratches (See the second picture). Then, we loaded and shifted everything we need to the ice edges, where we will head for the shake down trip (See the third picture). 

 What has impressed me most here is that everything is so well organized and compartmentalized. A variety of healthy, delicious food is always available free at the cafeteria. Lecture, training, and support necessary for every activity in Antarctica are readily provided. I am feeling how fortunate I am here, participating in ANSMET as part of United States Antarctic Program (USAP). At the same time, I just can’t stop appreciating everyone who supports me to make my life-long dream come true. We are almost getting ready. I can not wait to go out in the ice field for the meteorite search !

Tomoko Arai, 3rd December, 2012, McMurdo Station

Today has been a training day. For the newbies (like me), a lot of the details of how we will be hunting for meteorites is new. This continent can turn nasty very quickly, so one can’t just walk around casually hoping to find some sky rocks! Imagine doing systematic searching on snowmobiles for hours in a cold non-stop wind…and suddenly realizing the person behind you is no longer there. Clearly, this would be bad. Did they fall in a crevasse or just take a bathroom break? One needs to be observant not only of the surroundings but of your colleagues; full situational awareness is needed for a successful season.

Here, things that are normally simple, minor, or unimportant can become serious nuisances or even life threatening. Exposing just a little skin to the wind, for example, could lead to frost bite in not much time at all. Or simply walking from packed snow on to blue ice, the snow crystals on the bottom of your boots can become lubricants on the ice, resulting in a nasty fall, with the nearest medical facilities hundreds of miles away.

Of course, we have as much gear and training as possible to minimize the impact of the inevitable accidents. One such training is how to climb out of a crevasse or how to rescue someone who has fallen into one. The first picture shows us learning how to climb up a rope using two other ropes (I was having flashbacks to long-ago days of learning knots).

We’ve had some breaks today though. The annual MacTown craft fair was today. There are some very creative people here! And we managed to squeeze in a quick hike to the Discovery Hut, shown in the next picture. On the left side of the building in the shadows is actually a 100 year-old seal body, perfectly preserved. And the cliffs in the background are the location of the first death in Antarctica, over 100 years ago on the Discovery expedition. After sending this, I’m off to see our own astronaut Dr. Love give a presentation on his shuttle mission.

But we must remember at all times where we are: the coldest, driest, windiest, most desolate place on earth.

Rob Coker, 2nd December, 2012, McMurdo Station

Rope Tricks with the mountaineers

Discovery Hut, built in 1902 by Robert F. Scott’s Discovery Expedition.

The ANSMET teams did their clothing distribution yesterday,  and are scheduled to fly from Christchurch, New Zealand to McMurdo Station, Antarctica,  in just a few hours.  Hopefully within a day or two we'll be hearing from them in McMurdo!    A picture of their likely aircraft  (a military C-17) sitting on the sea ice in McMurdo Sound,  with the Royal Society Range in the background,  is attached.