|
Like Doing Research on the Moon
NSF began managing the entire U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) in 1970, providing not only research facilitation but also overall logistics management. The program maintains three year-round research stations and two research vessels capable of navigating through ice, as well as laboratories, telescopes, and other major instruments positioned across the continent. Besides developing the U.S. scientific agenda in cooperation with researchers, NSF provides for the health, safety, and overall well-being of 3,500 American scientists and support personnel, most of whom arrive and depart between October and February, when the continent is readily accessible by plane or ship.
Scientists say the experience is "like doing research on the moon." The continent's remote location and the fact that all provisions, building materials, fuel, equipment, and instruments must be brought in by ship or cargo plan. Each year, NSF improves the connections between the USAP and the rest of the world, making the region a little less isolated. All of the research stations now have Internet connections, and NSF hope to extend the program's telecommunications capabilities so that one day scientists can operate equipment remotely and view real-time displays of data from their home facilities.
|
|