11th March, 2008
In January 2004, I started working with a group of aerospace students on a rover project called Polarbot. This tele-operated, GPS enabled, solar powered rover was designed to be operated in polar environments. Four years and four student groups later, the rover was finally tested in King George Island Antarctica while visiting 2041 at the E-Base.
We learned a lot these last few days while testing the rover: from design and development problems to packaging, shipping and logistics issues. Overall it was a great experience for me to see the work of several students finally tested.
I am sincerely thankful to 2041 for hosting me at their E-Base, and helping me ship, assemble and test the rover. And most importantly for providing an opportunity to experience Antarctica.
Guest Post by Satish Chetty - Mentor at Stanford University’s Aerospace Department
8th March, 2008
You know those times where you get caught in a sudden downpour of rain that soaks you wet through? And its one of those downpours in the winter so you get wet and cold and feel like you will never be warm again?
Well imagine that happens when you can’t head home and have a nice warm shower and a change of clothes to make you feel instantly better. Imagine not being able to turn on the light at the flick of a switch.
The past few days have been really tough. There has been a constant icy wind and it hasn’t stopped raining. Everything I have is wet and I feel cold to the core. But in order for our Antarctic life to get any easier we’ve had to persevere… to work outside in the driving rain and freezing cold to get our two wind turbines up and running.
It’s simple really. Without our turbines we would have no electricity. That means no light, no heat and no power for our computers to tell you about this truly amazing experience.
Today we finally finished putting up those turbines. We now have a power supply - and even better we have a power supply that is clean, green and 100% renewable. Keeping our commitment to live off renewable energy in Antarctica has been incredibly hard but there is light at the end of the tunnel.
When our batteries are full and the turbines are still generating electricity we convert that extra energy to heat through an electric heater. As I sit here writing I can hear this little heater whirring away - so warming the air around me ever so slightly.
It will never have the same visual effect as burning logs in an open fire on a dark Winter’s night but this little fan heater as brought more warmth to me than the flames of a thousand fires.
It’s difficult to describe how much we have struggled to get to this point but I’m proud to say that, despite everything, we are here in Antarctica living off renewable energy.
Being out here really does make you think about how much we take for granted.
7th March, 2008
The Polar Bot is a revolutionary, semi-autonomous robot used for exploring and monitoring harsh environments. It was developed by Dr. Robert Twiggs and his team at Stanford University’s Space Systems Development Laboratory. The Bot has a built-in GPS tracking system, camera, and weather station, among other features. Satish Chetty of Stanford University will accompany the Polar Bot to the E-base this year to demonstrate its numerous applications within the Antarctic environment.
Polar Bot details (PDF, 156KB)
4th March, 2008
Most people have this image of Antarctica as a snow covered continent—true, but expanses of Antarctic shoreline are rock and volcanic soil, and here at Bellingshausen, on King George Island, E-Base is situated on a rocky outcropping overlooking Maxwell Bay, and we’re fighting a constant battle against mud.
Every time one enters the E-Base there ensues a clumsy ballet as the transition from outside boots to indoor footwear begins. Stomping up the stairs to the vestibule, hopping on one foot while trying to pull off a muddy Sorrel boot, while at the same time not taking a single step into the E-Base, requires a certain skill, and it’s quite tempting just to keep your outside boots on when you simply have to dash in to get a needed tool. Try as we might, mud and dirt always seem to make their way into the E-Base and the E-Home—broom and dustpan duty is one of our many daily chores. Read more
4th March, 2008
Hello everyone out there watching, first of all thank you to all for keeping tabs on us. I also want to say I’m missing my family, Kirsty, Elliot and Benjamin. I love you and miss you all.
What can I say so far it’s just been amazing since I got here, I haven’t stopped smiling. We got here about 11pm Saturday night. We had to do a bit of work emptying the sleeping accommodation building of its contents before we could bed down, and were all properly exhausted when we finally fell asleep.
And it’s just been non-stop since then! We got our first light powered up today (check out the video!) and we are going to tackle the wind turbine tomorrow.
We have some amazing people out here, each bringing their own individual personality to the team. I couldn’t think of any other people I would want to spend my time out here with and I love the fact I have this opportunity to do this.
If I have learnt one think so far, is that it doesn’t matter what you want to do or how hard you think it might be, just go for it and see what happens! That’s what I did and look where I am now: writing this from Antarctica!
Keep watching and speak to you all soon.
