The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station

Part 2


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Let's have a look outside.

View from summer camp, you see the dome, the cargo arch (it's history now) and a Hercules C-130 on the flight deck.

Everything has to be brought in by plane. The Hercs coming from McMurdo a 3 hour trip one way.

The two arches.

A cat is unloading the Herc. It takes normally 45 to 60 min. to unload and load the planes, get the extra fuel... Nearly everything here is powered by JP8 the same fuel the planes are using.

The engines are running all the time. It's just to cold to turn them off.

Some stuff that goes back out and some incoming stuff.

To get to the "Dark Sector" where our experiment is located, we have to cross the runway. Of course planes have the right of way, so you are warned by the beacon. MAPO in the background.

The "Dark Sector" with CARA and AMANDA

MAPO (Martin A. Pomerantz Observatory) building. Here is all the AMANDA electronics, part of CARA and a workshop. SPIREX and SPIRAC telescopes to the right.

The Bavarian flag over South Pole :)))) on top of MAPO.



View from top of MAPO, the Python Radiotelescope and the ASTRO building in the foreground.

Half of the flag is already missing - gone with the wind. The PICO drill site in the background.

GASP (Gamma ray Astronomy South Pole) another of our experiments.

The lab is alredy buried by snow. To get there you have to climb down 5 meters.

SPASE2 (South Pole Air Shower Experiment 2).

The cargo area

The South Pole International Passenger Terminal.

The new BIT (Balloon Inflation Tower)

Another Herc is coming in. During summer time we had up to six planes a day.

The big helium tank is getting unloaded. The helium is needed for the weather balloons and a couple of instruments (cooling).



Taking off again





All the adventures, tourists... are coming in/out with the Twin-Otter (and these are not many).

The blue building or "Beaker-Box". Beakers are the scientist here. This is also an emergency backup building for the winter and everybody has stored some clothes and personal stuff there.


View of summer camp with Jamesways and Hypertats.

Behind summer camp are the cargo berms.

The blue Hypertats. The 2nd generation of Jamesways.

View from the dome to the summer camp.




continue with part 3





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