The first ship has arrived in McMurdo Sound: the Swedish icebreaker Oden, clearing the way for more ships to come (a research vessel, a fuel tanker, and a cargo ship). For weeks leading up to its arrival, the rumor mill was awash with tidings of "hot Swedish chicks" that would soon descend en masse upon our island. Anyone not stuck at the bottom of the world will recognize the absurtity of that idea, but there was some genuine optimism. In the end we settled for eighteen hardened Nordic sailors and guided tours of the ship.
[Yes, the ship can be fully crewed by just 18 Swedes. On research trips, however, they can accomodate up to 80 with extra crew and scientists. 10 bonus points to anyone who can correctly guess why the Oden sprays water out her bow, as in the picture below.]
Another recent arrival is NASA's inflatable "lunar shelter" test structure. If you haven't heard, we're scheduled to return to the moon by 2020, and this time we're going to stay. This is one potential shelter design: it packs small, insulates well, and inflates quickly. Already it looks promising for use near Earth's poles. If it survives the coming Antarctic winter, it might one day make it to the moon.
[No website yet, but they've promised to have one with live webcams and educational material.]
Now you see it...
Now you don't!
Cynics will be forgiven for calling to mind the proto-hip-hop track covered most famously by Gil-Scott Heron.
pepe
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