An international research station in Antarctica

Abstract

Many people, including Wernher von Braun, have drawn an analogy between the manned exploration of the solar system and scientific stations in Antarctica. Some of the Space/Antarctic parallels are quite obvious, such as the necessity to select small groups of highly trained individuals who can work together in isolation for extended periods, or in the case of the Moon/Antarctic comparison, the long day/night cycle. However, the parallel can be carried considerably further to include the types of science to be done, and, in some cases, there is even a strong similarity in environmental conditions. It may be worth while to build a new Antarctic station just to learn more about how to do planetary exploration.