Week 7 at the Pole

Black and white image showing head-on view of plane landing at South Pole.
Martin Wolf, IceCube/NSF

Well, now it’s official—the South Pole station has closed for the winter.  Above is a great shot that IceCube winterover Martin captured of the last passenger-carrying plane to depart.  Below, the plane is shown being refueled, followed by a view of its take-off as it heads for McMurdo captured from the station’s observation deck.  The following day, the crew held their first all-hands meeting as a team. And of course they ended their week with a viewing marathon of all three versions of “The Thing,” as tradition dictates.

Refueling the last departing plane from the Pole.
Martin Wolf, IceCube/NSF
View of departing plane at take-off from observation deck on top of station.
Martin Wolf, IceCube/NSF