Helicopters both military and civil have supported scientific research programs in Antarctica. In this 1961 photo, a US Navy Sikorsky H-34 assigned to US Navy Task Force 43 takes off after dropping off observers for a tour of Cape Royds, some 30 miles from McMurdo Station, site of an Adélie penguin rookery and a hut built by explorer Ernest Shackleton. Remote missions such as these require extraordinary planning
and preparation to maintain operational readiness. With punishing weather—Antarctic temperatures are usually below freezing, even in summer—and extended supply lines, maintenance needs must be forecast down to the smallest part, including triple redundancies for essentials.