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The "known challenges" aren't technological, but social (economic and political).

Right they are, but not only. For a good lead on social aspects, I recommand reading about winterover missions to Antarctica. My own site or, must better, Big Dead Place.

A Twin Otter is sent to medevac a fisherman from a Russian trawler to McMurdo. The victim of hammer blows by another crewmate, the incident perpetuates the hammer as the traditional weapon of choice for discerning Antarcticans who go apeshit.

http://www.bigdeadplace.com/state_of_the_station.html

Have a look at http://www.bigdeadplace.com/ for an afternoon's worth of good reading.

It's not just that being on the ice leads to crazy behavior, it's that the management is back in the US and they treat the workers like dirt. While they have picnics back in Kansas City. The NSF, which pays for it all, is equally brain dead. Here are some some "uncomfortable questions" from the blog.

The Supreme Court has ruled that Antarctica is "a foreign country". The IRS has emphasized recently that Antarctica is "not a foreign country". Does NSF consider Antarctica to be "a foreign country" or "not a foreign country"? Do American citizens legally have Constitutional rights in Antarctica? Does NSF voluntarily support the Constitutional rights of American citizens in Antarctica? What legal model is used by NSF to determine the rights of American citizens in Antarctica? Since NSF manages all facilities at the stations, which areas or facilities are considered "public" areas (guaranteed Constitutional protection)? If there are no "public" areas, then what policies does NSF have to ensure protection of "free speech" and "free press"? What policies does NSF have to keep its contractors from undermining these protections, if any? If there are no civil protections granted to Americans in Antarctica, are employees explicitly told this by NSF and its contractors?

Having pointed this all out, it also sounds like fun in a weird way, if you enjoy hanging with funny disfunctional drunks in a potentially lethal environment.

And keep in mind that the festive period of Antarctica is not Giftmas or even New Years (too much work to do, too many bosses around), but the Midwinter, celebrated when you are halfway through your 'tour of duty', and the days are the coldest.

Science is the process of describing the universe through physical observation. Here are some things that are not science: distributing money to scientists, dispersing press releases to the media, inviting Congressmen to stay at Building 137 (that's a nice apartment for DVs, or Distinguished Visitors), and influencing your contract or your contract-completion bonus. Science is a rational approach to existence, and its true practitioners are, for lack of better words, on the right track. However, to unconditionally bestow respect on scientists is like emptying your wallet for each street musician. And to bestow respect on an agency that funds scientists is like giving your wallet to a bus driver with instructions to give it to a street musician.

If you want to know what it's like to be a grunt worker, and see how to get seriously screwed over in Antarctica all the way from Denver, read: http://www.amazon.com/Big-Dead-Place-Menacing-Antarctica/dp/0922915997. It is a seriously funny, and ultimately depressing, account of how corporate American and the US government treat people who are at the complete mercy of a bureaucracy on the other side of the planet. The author was first a food service worker, and later a garbageman, in the big dead place.

You obviously haven't been looking hard enough...

http://www.bigdeadplace.com/

For those curious about McMurdo itself, Big Dead Place is a great resource. After reading it, you can see why they do astronaut simulation work there. As a bonus, the website has movie reviews, all of 'The Thing', with usual real-world commentary like 'In the actual USAP, employees are forbidden flamethrowers.'

"Just where does US jurisdiction end?"

Well it doesn't end at the Antarctic for one...

And there's that great review of John Carpenter's The Thing : "The most noteworthy deviation from actual USAP practices is that in the film everyone has a flamethrower...In the actual USAP, employees are forbidden flamethrowers."

And there's that great review of John Carpenter's The Thing : "The most noteworthy deviation from actual USAP practices is that in the film everyone has a flamethrower...In the actual USAP, employees are forbidden flamethrowers."

If I were given a chance of becoming an Antarctican for a while, I'd go for it. I don't even have any molars left...

Check out Big Dead Place, a great website run by some very funny and bitter people that work at McMurdo (largest of the 3 American stations).

Charity drives like "fuck a winter-over" and the ever-popular column "Ask a Fucked Up Winter-Over" make it worth the visit. See how these people really live.

Oh, and they love John Carpenter's "The Thing".

One of the funniest and most interesting sites I know. Site has stories about the people working over there (Antarctica) and other stuff as well.

http://www.bigdeadplace.com/

a few random quotes from the 'welcome' page:

"Science is a rational approach to existence, and its true practitioners are, for lack of better words, on the right track. However, to unconditionally bestow respect on scientists is like emptying your wallet for each street musician. And to bestow respect on an agency that funds scientists is like giving your wallet to a bus driver with instructions to give it to a street musician."

"Four out of five biologists regard psychologists as jibbering baboons, and you should too. If other scientists had their way, Psychology would not be considered a "science" at all, but would be ranked somewhere above Creationism and below Performance Art. In fact, those who receive undergraduate degrees in Psychology but decide not to pursue graduate programs in that field often fall back on careers in Human Resources. But because the psychologist is in a position to terminate your contract on a whim, it may be in your favor to temporarily imagine the psychologist not as a glorified HR clerk, but as a respected authority with legitimate expertise. Such ideas can always be discarded after the interview."

got to love the guy, whoever he may be, he is funny. as someone has said above, the real story is here http://www.bigdeadplace.com/

...is, of course, here.

Short version: Everyone at the pole was pissed. Denver (RPSC headquarters) took away their porn^H^H^H^Hnet access, and thus made a bunch of already deprived individuals even more deprived.

There's a ~500 K newsletter-spoof PDF on the site that expresses some of their feelings.

• "Kudos to the Denver IT staff for quickly responding to a hacker attack on South Pole Station. The attack occurred Friday night Denver time and our crack professional team denied the attacker access by immediately pulling the plug on Pole. They got back to dealing with the aftermath of this knee jerk response sometime Wednesday shortly after the last chocolate sprinkle donut had been eaten but shortly before nap time."

Some other interesting things on the site:

• Raytheon says Antarctica is a 'foreign nation' for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (overtime) and OSHA (asbestos exposure, etc.)

• However... the IRS considers wages earned while working there the same as if they'd been earned inside the US.

• Some people working there question whether or not the US Constitution applies (specifically the First Ammendment)

• The whole bit about the Symmes Antarctic Intelligencer

• Frontierwatch is a terrifically Dilbert-esque look into the day-to-day goings-on at the Pole.

Short version: Everyone at the pole was pissed. Denver (RPSC headquarters) took away their porn^H^H^H^Hnet access, and thus made a bunch of already deprived individuals even more deprived.

There's a ~500 K newsletter-spoof PDF on the site that expresses some of their feelings.

• "Kudos to the Denver IT staff for quickly responding to a hacker attack on South Pole Station. The attack occurred Friday night Denver time and our crack professional team denied the attacker access by immediately pulling the plug on Pole. They got back to dealing with the aftermath of this knee jerk response sometime Wednesday shortly after the last chocolate sprinkle donut had been eaten but shortly before nap time."

Some other interesting things on the site:

• Raytheon says Antarctica is a 'foreign nation' for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (overtime) and OSHA (asbestos exposure, etc.)

• However... the IRS considers wages earned while working there the same as if they'd been earned inside the US.

• Some people working there question whether or not the US Constitution applies (specifically the First Ammendment)

• The whole bit about the Symmes Antarctic Intelligencer

• Frontierwatch is a terrifically Dilbert-esque look into the day-to-day goings-on at the Pole.

Short version: Everyone at the pole was pissed. Denver (RPSC headquarters) took away their porn^H^H^H^Hnet access, and thus made a bunch of already deprived individuals even more deprived.

There's a ~500 K newsletter-spoof PDF on the site that expresses some of their feelings.

• "Kudos to the Denver IT staff for quickly responding to a hacker attack on South Pole Station. The attack occurred Friday night Denver time and our crack professional team denied the attacker access by immediately pulling the plug on Pole. They got back to dealing with the aftermath of this knee jerk response sometime Wednesday shortly after the last chocolate sprinkle donut had been eaten but shortly before nap time."

Some other interesting things on the site:

• Raytheon says Antarctica is a 'foreign nation' for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (overtime) and OSHA (asbestos exposure, etc.)

• However... the IRS considers wages earned while working there the same as if they'd been earned inside the US.

• Some people working there question whether or not the US Constitution applies (specifically the First Ammendment)

• The whole bit about the Symmes Antarctic Intelligencer

• Frontierwatch is a terrifically Dilbert-esque look into the day-to-day goings-on at the Pole.

Short version: Everyone at the pole was pissed. Denver (RPSC headquarters) took away their porn^H^H^H^Hnet access, and thus made a bunch of already deprived individuals even more deprived.

There's a ~500 K newsletter-spoof PDF on the site that expresses some of their feelings.

• "Kudos to the Denver IT staff for quickly responding to a hacker attack on South Pole Station. The attack occurred Friday night Denver time and our crack professional team denied the attacker access by immediately pulling the plug on Pole. They got back to dealing with the aftermath of this knee jerk response sometime Wednesday shortly after the last chocolate sprinkle donut had been eaten but shortly before nap time."

Some other interesting things on the site:

• Raytheon says Antarctica is a 'foreign nation' for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (overtime) and OSHA (asbestos exposure, etc.)

• However... the IRS considers wages earned while working there the same as if they'd been earned inside the US.

• Some people working there question whether or not the US Constitution applies (specifically the First Ammendment)

• The whole bit about the Symmes Antarctic Intelligencer

• Frontierwatch is a terrifically Dilbert-esque look into the day-to-day goings-on at the Pole.

Short version: Everyone at the pole was pissed. Denver (RPSC headquarters) took away their porn^H^H^H^Hnet access, and thus made a bunch of already deprived individuals even more deprived.

There's a ~500 K newsletter-spoof PDF on the site that expresses some of their feelings.

• "Kudos to the Denver IT staff for quickly responding to a hacker attack on South Pole Station. The attack occurred Friday night Denver time and our crack professional team denied the attacker access by immediately pulling the plug on Pole. They got back to dealing with the aftermath of this knee jerk response sometime Wednesday shortly after the last chocolate sprinkle donut had been eaten but shortly before nap time."

Some other interesting things on the site:

• Raytheon says Antarctica is a 'foreign nation' for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (overtime) and OSHA (asbestos exposure, etc.)

• However... the IRS considers wages earned while working there the same as if they'd been earned inside the US.

• Some people working there question whether or not the US Constitution applies (specifically the First Ammendment)

• The whole bit about the Symmes Antarctic Intelligencer

• Frontierwatch is a terrifically Dilbert-esque look into the day-to-day goings-on at the Pole.

For more reading about living and working in Antartica, see Big Dead Place