British Halley VI: a tour of the fantastic polar station

The Halley VI polar station is perhaps the most original of all such sites located in Antarctica. This British station is more like a settlement on Mars than a research center: unusual modules with high legs, streamlined shape, a long chain of boxes, like a giant spaceship that landed on an ice planet. We invite you to get acquainted with this miracle of British engineering.

The modern Halley-6 (Halley VI) is already the sixth modification of the station, which was opened in February 2013. The British polar research center on the Brant Glacier (Weddell Sea, West Antarctica) has been operating since 1956, that is, for more than 60 years, and is named after the famous English scientist Edmond Halley. The main activity of Halle Station is observing the Earth’s atmosphere. Here, studies of the ice cover are carried out, meteorological observations and weather forecasting are carried out, and also the upper layers of the atmosphere are studied. It was the specialists of this British station who were the first to discover the depletion of the ozone layer (the so-called ozone hole) in 1985.

Over the long period of its existence, the station on the Branta Glacier has changed its appearance several times. The first four modifications were ordinary wooden structures, which were regularly covered with snow several meters in height. Because of these troubles, the stations had to be abandoned and new ones built. Only in 1989, the British designers came up with the idea to build modules on high piles, which can be adjusted in height and thus raised above meter snow. Such was the Hally-5 station, which nevertheless had to be partially moved, since over time it was close to the edge of the glacier.

Halli-6 station consists of 8 modules, each of which has its own purpose. Unlike its predecessor, it can be moved using a special design. Here are shots of the construction of this "space" polar station.

The station is designed for 32 people, but no more than 15 winters here. It has everything for a comfortable life, work and relaxation. Let's see in more detail what's inside.