Week 44 at the Pole

Tuesday, November 19, 2019 - 2:15pm

Close-up on parked Basler plane.
Yuya Makino, IceCube/NSF

Two fresh faces have arrived at the Pole—IceCube’s next winterovers, John Hardin and Yuya Makino, ready for service.  Above is the plane that brought them, and below we see them standing at the geographic South Pole.  They were lucky to fly in on a smaller plane, since it flies slower and lower, affording a view of the scenic Antarctic mountains.  For the first few days or so, they overlap with the previous winterovers for crucial handover training.  Although it takes some time to acclimate and things are already busy, they’ve already walked the mile trek to the IceCube Lab and visited the ceremonial pole, where Yuya’s excitement was made evident. You can learn some more about John and Yuya here.

Two winterovers in red parkas flanking South Pole sign
Sofia Fatigoni, BICEP/NSF

View from plane of Antarctic mountains
John Hardin, IceCube/NSF

Person in red parka jumping into the air in distance at ceremonial South Pole, in front of line of flags
Sofia Fatigoni, BICEP/NSF