Exploration

Virtual Tour of the Halley VI Antarctic Research Station

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to step inside an Antarctic research station, you now have a great opportunity to do so that doesn’t require you to charter a plane, don survival gear, and prepare to endure some of the most extreme conditions on the planet.

Thanks to the British Antarctic Survey and Michal Krzysztofowicz Photography, you can now take a virtual tour of the ingenious Halley VI research station.

As mentioned in a previous post, the Halley VI station is a mobile outpost designed by Hugh Broughton Architects. Its mobile design allows it to relocate whenever the instability of the Antarctic environment poses a risk to the researchers and their equipment.

The architects also did an outstanding job in providing the inhabitants with an environment that I’m sure helps mitigate the psychological toll exacted by living in close-quarters isolated at the bottom of the planet.

You can experience the full interactive virtual interactive tour here, but if you’re in a hurry, you’ll find some highlights below.

Aside: according to Jess Walkup, the wintering base commander at Halley VI, the monkey toys you see throughout the virtual tour are a gift from the photographer’s girlfriend.

The "Boot Room" in C-Module at the Halley VI research station
The “Boot Room” in C-Module at the Halley VI research station.
The surgery (aka "medical bay" for us Americans) in the C-Module of the Halley VI research station
The surgery (aka “medical bay” for us Americans) in the C-Module of the Halley VI research station.
Part of the kitchen in the A-Module (the big red module) of the Halley VI research station
Part of the kitchen in the A-Module (the big red module) of the Halley VI research station.
A section of the gym on the top floor of the A-Module of the Halley VI research station
A section of the gym on the top floor of the A-Module of the Halley VI research station.
Part of the entertainment TV Room on the top floor of the A-module of the Halley VI research station
Part of the entertainment TV Room on the top floor of the A-module of the Halley VI research station.
Station inhabitants enjoying the Bar in the A-Module of the Halley VI research station
Station inhabitants enjoying the Bar in the A-Module of the Halley VI research station.
Station infrastructure visible in the Pump Room in the E1-Module of the Halley VI research station
Station infrastructure visible in the Pump Room in the E1-Module of the Halley VI research station.
Workstations in the H1-Module of the Halley VI research station
Workstations in the H1-Module of the Halley VI research station.
The "Balloon Room" in the H1-Module of the Halley VI research station.
The “Balloon Room” in the H1-Module of the Halley VI research station. Presumably, this involves weather balloons, but judging by the diagrams on the whiteboard, they may be sending bears into near-space altitudes.
The Electronics Lab in the H2-Module of the Halley VI research station.
The Electronics Lab in the H2-Module of the Halley VI research station.
The Observation Deck in the H2 module of the Halley VI research station.
The Observation Deck in the H2 module of the Halley VI research station.
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