Gallery: Britain's Antarctic Research Station Looks Like a Spaceship
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The bright red module of Halley VI, Britain’s Antarctic research station, houses a dining area, a pool table, a gym, a TV lounge, and presumably a well-stocked bar.
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Reinforced steel structures help the station withstand Antarctica’s fierce storms.
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The station’s parts traveled by cargo ship to Antarctica, where a construction crew assembled each module and pulled them to their site nine miles away.
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The eight modules that make up Halley VI are each dedicated to a particular function: science, sleeping, socializing, or generating power.
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Researchers and technicians unwind in the social module.
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The compact bedrooms come equipped with a fixture that simulates daylight, to combat seasonal affective disorder.
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Bulldozers drag the 200-ton social module—one of the largest loads ever moved on ice.
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The architects hired a color consultant to choose interior décor that was calm and comforting—very important for residents facing a grim Antarctic winter.
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A bridge links the station’s energy modules, which also houses a sewage treatment plant and generates water by melting snow in melt tanks.
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A climate observatory in the science module provides a 360-degree view of the vast nothingness that is the Brunt Ice Shelf. A spectrophotometer takes ozone readings.
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Hydraulic legs keep the station from getting buried by snow, while flat, wide skis allow the station to move when the ice beneath it threatens to split.
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Halley VI, battered by a storm.
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Only in Antarctica: a board helps keep track of personnel to make sure everyone’s safe.
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An architect’s sketch illustrates how the modules might be constructed in a factory line.
