It is situated between Observation Hill, on which this photo was taken, and Scott's hut at Hut Point (top left), from which Scott, Wilson and Shackleton started their first attempt to reach South Pole in 1902. The station in its present shape was built in 1955 in preparation for the International Geophysical Year (IGY) 1957. Even though the base, which used to be run by the US Navy, is supplied by the US National Guard, there are no firearms on the base. Anyone expecting untouched nature in Antarctica will be shocked on arrival at McMurdo base: 85 buildings, a mess of cables and pipes, roads, cars, 20 mph speed limit, a church, hospital, galley, greenhouse, 3 pubs, 8 fire engines, more than 180 trucks, 65 fork lifts, 30 tractors and 90 motor sleds. And, of course, email, satellite telephones and a post office.
The building on the lower left corner marks the place where the only nuclear reactor that has ever been on the Antarctic continent was standing. The reactor was operating between 1962 and 1972, when it was dismantled and shipped off the continent, along with more than 10000 cubic metres of contaminated soil. On the right side and in the background there are large fuel tanks, which are able to support the base for more than one year in the case that the fuel delivering ice breakers cannot reach McMurdo during the summer. The sphere on the upper right corner protects the large satellite antenna of the NASA Antarctic ground control, which is very important for communicating with satellites, space shuttles and the international space station.
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It is situated between Observation Hill, on which this photo was taken, and Scott's hut at Hut Point (top left), from which Scott, Wilson and Shackleton started their first attempt to reach South Pole in 1902. The station in its present shape was built in 1955 in preparation for the International Geophysical Year (IGY) 1957. Even though the base, which used to be run by the US Navy, is supplied by the US National Guard, there are no firearms on the base. Anyone expecting untouched nature in Antarctica will be shocked on arrival at McMurdo base: 85 buildings, a mess of cables and pipes, roads, cars, 20 mph speed limit, a church, hospital, galley, greenhouse, 3 pubs, 8 fire engines, more than 180 trucks, 65 fork lifts, 30 tractors and 90 motor sleds. And, of course, email, satellite telephones and a post office.
The building on the lower left corner marks the place where the only nuclear reactor that has ever been on the Antarctic continent was standing. The reactor was operating between 1962 and 1972, when it was dismantled and shipped off the continent, along with more than 10000 cubic metres of contaminated soil. On the right side and in the background there are large fuel tanks, which are able to support the base for more than one year in the case that the fuel delivering ice breakers cannot reach McMurdo during the summer. The sphere on the upper right corner protects the large satellite antenna of the NASA Antarctic ground control, which is very important for communicating with satellites, space shuttles and the international space station.