The 2002-2003 Antarctic research season officially got underway in late August as U.S. Air Force transport planes bested snowstorms and high winds to bring in cargo and personnel to McMurdo Station, the National Science Foundation's logistical and scientific hub on the continent. NSF manages the U.S. Antarctic Program, the nation's research endeavor on the southernmost continent.

Dubbed "Winfly," the flights were the first to land at McMurdo since the station closed for the austral winter in February. The annual Winfly missions allow the Antarctic program to bring scientists into McMurdo at the beginning of the austral spring to conduct time-sensitive research, such as monitoring ozone depletion.

Two C-17 and four C-141 jet transports brought in a total of 264,054 pounds of cargo and 304 passengers. The cargo included 12,000 pounds of fresh produce and another 12,300 pounds of mail for those who spent the winter at the station. The cargo also included three Challenger 95's, multi-purpose, tracked vehicles each weighing approximately 38,000 pounds that are used to maintain runways, skiways and roads. In addition to U.S. personnel, the plane also brought in members of the New Zealand Antarctic Program, which maintains a year-round station near McMurdo. The planes landed at Pegasus Field, an ice runway that the Antarctic Program last spring certified as suitable for landing wheeled aircraft.

For more information about how NSF meets the logistical challenges of conducting science in the Polar Regions, see: http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/ media/01/fslogistics.htm

A U.S. Air Force C-141 transport aircraft flies into McMurdo Station, the National Science Foundation's logistical and scientific hub in Antarctica, in late August. The plane was among the first to visit the continent since the station closed for the austral winter late last spring.
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A C-17 cargo aircraft, all but obscured by an Antarctic storm, sits on the ice runway near McMurdo Station.
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A U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft awaits favorable weather to depart from Antarctica.
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A Challenger 95 tracked vehicle rolls out of an aircraft cargo bay. The vehicles will be used to maintain runways, skiways and roads.
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A Challenger 95 emerges from a U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft. The vehicle will be used during the upcoming Antarctic research season.
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