Update

There has not been much activity recently. The gondola is ready to go, but the weather has not cooperated. They were able to launch one pathfinder earlier, and the path was not favorable. They just launched a second pathfinder and are already satisfied with its path. Apparently CREAM may launch tomorrow if the weather is suitable. If the weather remains favorable we could launch a couple days later.

Here is a link to the NASA page . You can monitor the flight paths of the two pathfinders and the gondola's when they launch. To make it easier for pilots, Antarctica has its own coordinate system. In the projection you see on the Pathfinder link, the prime meridian becomes grid north.


That is the payload for the Ultra Long Duration Balloon or ULDB hanging from the Boss. They are still testing it out, so the payload is mostly just instrumentation for tracking. ANITA and CREAM use Long Duration Balloons. The main difference is ULDB's are pressurized because they are completely sealed, LDB's are open at the bottom like a hot air balloon. Both use helium to fly. Originally LDB's only flew for a week or so, but now they are having flights of over 30 days. ULDB's should fly for a few months. ULDB's though don't have much application in Antarctica, because as there is only a limited window in which you can launch and recover a balloon.

The mezzanine in the hangar.













My area is on the right














The hangar with ANITA right outside.


















This shot actually isn't that much better without ANITA.



















Update to the update. The pathfinding balloon has a leak, and is dropping pretty fast, it should impact in a couple minutes. My guess is they won't launch CREAM tomorrow.

Rumor has it they were using a new untested balloon type for the pathfinder.

Pressure Ridges

I went on a tour of the pressure ridges off of Scott Base. The pressure ridges are formed as the ice from the Ross Ice shelf slowly pushes into the sea ice. The formations are due to the immense pressure that results.


Looking out at the start of the trail from Scott Base. On some years there is open water from the coast by Scott Base to the Ice Shelf.












Looking back at Scott Base from the pressure ridges. Mount Erebus is on the right, Castle Rock is just to the left of Erebus, Observation Hill is just outside of this shot on the left. You can see the pressure ridges in the shot of Scott Base from the entry on Observation Hill.








Evidence of seal in the area. I have seen seals in the area when I ride by the pressure ridges every day for work.

















Evidence of a penguin, but the penguin was headed in the wrong direction. The penguins are all on the other side of the island right now, but they may venture over here when the sea ice starts opening up.


























































































Mount Discovery in the background.

Taylor Dome Part 2

A shot of one of the Dry Valleys.


















Our toilet in the poop tent.


















This shot was taken just as we crossed over the coast of Antarctica. A lava field takes up most of the shot. We weren't quite sure what that circular region was, but we thought it looked cool. I was thinking it may be some sort of lagoon with shallow ice over it, but I really don't know.














I'm standing in this shot. You can see the solar panel frame for the primary pulsar. The white PVC tube sticking out of the ground is the top of the bore hole. The solar panel box has cables that go to a battery box, which is under the surface of the snow. The pulsar box is barely visible near the bore hole, and it has a cable running down the bore hole to an antenna.






Anne, our mountaineer, decided to have a drinking contest with me right before we went to bed one night. My water was starting to freeze, which made for an unpleasant experience. I won, but I had a little bit of a head start and I weigh probably twice as much as she does.








I don't know which glacier this is, but you can see how it flows.

















I thought this was Mount Discovery, but now I'm thinking it wasn't, so it's just another photo.













This is an candid photo of myself. My neck was actually pretty sore, which was why I was laying down. I think not being able to stand up in any of the tents, having to look down to walk because of the goggles, and all the stuff in my jacket that I didn't want to freeze contributed.










Adding the secret ingredient to Sastrugi Stew.

Various Photos

The panel on the battery box facing the center column before it was put on.














A Science Support Center worker's toy.














We are actually still doing some work on ANITA. I finished taping up the instrument. It is special teflon tape, much like they use on satellites, that is extremely reflective, and of course costs a lot of money. The tape on the ANITA instrument probably totals over $3,000. Other people are still working on calibrating the antennas, and we made another addition which you will see more clearly in the next shot. The cover is off of the NASA instrument, so you can see inside it, I believe that instrument is worth $1 million. Soon the gondola will only be sitting on my stand, as apparently the hoist is due for it's annual service. It will be neat and nerve wracking to see. At this point the gondola is obviously priceless, but to give you an idea of it's actual cost, each of those square white antennas costs $5,000 and there are 40 of them. The lower ring of solar panels(which isn't on in this photo) costs over $30,000. The instruments are even more ridiculous.

























Looking back towards the back half of our hangar. I'll get a better shot when payload is out of the building.

Observation Hill Hike

Observation Hill, or Ob Hill is a prominent hill near McMurdo that you can hike at any time when the weather is good, and because it is always sunny, you can really hike it at any time. I'll get a better shot of it, so keep reading my blog.








At the top of the hill, which is about 750 feet high, there is a cross dedicated to the members of Robert F. Scott's expedition to the South Pole as due to poor planning and luck none of them made it back. Scott base is named after him, as is Amundsen-Scott, the U.S. base at the South Pole. After being here and experiencing the best Antarctica has to offer, the hardships they face are still almost incomprehensible. In fall of 1911 they began their trek with motorized vehicles, dog sleds, and horses. These all traveled at different rates which made the expedition difficult and it was compounded by the fact that they didn't know how to lead the dogs, so the men ended up pulling the sleds and the dogs ran along beside them. They made it to the South Pole five weeks after Amundsen and so they began their trek back. One member of the team fell off of a glacier, another was so injured that walked off into nothingness after saying "I am just going outside and may be some time" in the hopes that he would no longer jeopardize the lives of the other members of the team. By March of 1912 bad weather set in, and the remaining members made it 11 miles past where a resupply depot was supposed to be, but 24 miles short of the actual location of the depot. The ended up just hunkering down and eating through their last supplies as storms, poor health, and decreasing sunlight made progress impossible. He kept a really interesting journal, which is why he is remembered and revered today. Amundsen hardly wrote anything interesting about his expedition, but later said that "I would gladly forgo any honour or money if thereby I could have saved Scott his terrible death." The cross was erected in 1913, and part of it's inscription reads " To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
Scott Base, the Kiwi base.















Mactown.














Those mountains form the coast of Antarctica proper, but as you can see, it's just ice between Ross Island, where McMurdo is, and the continent.

Battery Box Art

The battery box contains the batteries for the flight. There is fluctuation in the intensity of the sunlight during the flight, so the batteries help ensure a consistent supply of electricity. The batteries need to be kept warmer than the ambient temperature at 100,000 feet, which is actually pretty close to freezing. To accomplish that, the panels covering the box need to be between 40 and 60 percent black. Last time they had an art contest with the winners get a monetary prize as well as the opportunity to see the balloon launch. This year they tried the contest again, but for whatever reason we didn't get sufficient entries, so two of the panels were done in house. I don't have a photo of the top panel, but I'll try to get one.

I'll also try to get a better shot of this panel.

More than a few random shots

This is a shot of us coming back from the balloon base on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. Thankfully they didn't close the road until after we made it back, so I was able to get Thanksgiving dinner. There are two vans in this shot fyi.







This is looking into one of the instruments on the deck of the gondola. It is the heart of the experiment.











One laptop isn't enough for some people I guess.















Here you can see the other physics experiment, CREAM, doing their hang test.












ANITA outside of our hangar to practice a hook to hook transfer. The bottom antennas actually swing out after launch, and they are referred to as drop down antennas from here on out. The solar panels are also not on as they are extremely fragile which makes putting them on extra fun for me.








This is the freezer for the galley at the balloon base.












ANITA sitting out on a pad doing GPS testing and calibration. GPS is used to figure out the exact position and orientation of the payload as well as to provide extremely accurate timing.















ANITA during the hang test. The drop downs are retracted in this photo.


















ANITA in all her glory with the drop downs deployed. The saucer like antennas at the top on the corners of the solar panels are the GPS antennas. The instrument on the deck on the left is the heart of ANITA. The battery box is on the far side, and NASA's instrument which monitors the flight and controls the ballast hopper, balloon valves, and other aspects is on the right. We passed the hang test, and ANITA weighed in at 5585 pounds including with one person on board and the temporary protective solar panel covers on.