Shutdown ends, but some US Antarctic research still frozen
Operation IceBridge , which tracks yearly changes in the polar ice sheets, will likely go ahead, but with fewer flights. This was the first year the research mission planned to fly a P-3B plane out of Antarctica's McMurdo Station instead of taking off from Punta Arenas, Chile.
"At this point everyone is trying to assess the impact on the deployments and determine the best way forward," said IceBridge project scientist Michael Studinger. "We have more questions than answers but we should know more sometime next week, hopefully. Both NASA and NSF are committed to enable a shortened McMurdo deployment if possible."
http://www.nbcnews.com/science/shutdown-en...ozen-8C11415427In 2013, NASA's Wallops Flight Facility added a C-130 Hercules to its fleet of aircraft. Formerly a U.S. Air Force aircraft, the C-130 brings the range and cargo capacity needed to serve as a long-range airborne laboratory and to carry cargo in support of science missions around the world.
It's first airborne mission is in support of the September 2013 IceBridge campaign to Greenland. The C-130 will then be deployed to Christchurch, New Zealand, to provide logistical support for IceBridge's 2013 Antarctic campaign based in Antarctica's McMurdo Station.