Stan Wilson, left, and Ernie Hand unveil a plaque to memorialize the tragic crash of a U.S. Navy P2V airplane that occurred on Nov. 9, 1961, shortly after taking off near Australia's Wilkes Station. The plaque was taken from Australia and placed near the site of the wreckage last month.
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Not Forgotten
Ernie Hand recalls the gasoline fireball filling the plane up to his ankles. He had managed to bring the U.S. Navy P2V-7LP Neptune back to the edge of the ice shelf before the crash landing that sent the converted bomber skidding across a half-mile of ice. Fifty years later, a memorial to the men who died and survived that tragedy was erected in Antarctica.
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Beast of Burden
During the 2010-11 field season, personnel at the South Pole Station used a series of small explosions to collapse several old buildings, which had been buried under the ice but that had become a hazard to surface travel. Was it now safe to travel over an area known as Old Pole? The U.S. Antarctic Program enlisted Yeti the robot to find out.
Keep on Truckin'
Ten years ago, the idea to drive across more than 1,000 miles of Antarctic wilderness to resupply the South Pole Station with fuel and cargo was just an audacious idea. Today, two heavy vehicle trains are in operation, and engineers are testing robotic tractors and developing autonomous crevasse detection capabilities.
Latest and Greatest
A unique gathering of polar veterans recently met for the eighth annual Polar Technology Conference. The conference brings together engineers and polar scientists to exchange information on the latest research needs and technology solutions that have been successful in polar environments.
Not Sitting Down
A science team led by researchers from Brigham Young University and NASA has spent the last two field seasons in West Antarctica driving snowmobiles and pulling the latest high-tech radars hundreds of kilometers across the ice to find out just how much snow is falling. That will help future predictions of sea-level rise from ice sheets.
