Halley matters. In a data-sparse area, it has recorded 60 unbroken years of weather
observations - essential for detecting long-term climate trends.It also sits under the point where
the Earth's magnetic field lines curve into the pole, offering unique radar perspectives up into
space, and its chemistry lab samples pollutants in the world's purest air, which sweeps in
constantly from the vastnesses of the Antarctic interior.So each time Halley has become
uninhabitable, BAS has built a replacement - and Halley VI is a beauty, designed by architect
Hugh Broughton as a chain of blue and red modules, jacked up on hydraulic legs above the snow,
with bedrooms at one end, offices and social space in the middle, science labs at the other.
separated and dragged across the ice to a new location. Halley VI will last."It's a brilliant
place to be spending the next year," says Jess Walkup, station leader for the forthcoming Antarctic
winter season.In the middle of winter you might as well be on Mars Pete Smith, Electrician
"I'm looking forward to the feeling once everybody leaves and there's just 13 of us here - that
moment you look round and think, 'This is it: everything we need has to come from this group of
people.'"Most people at Halley aren't scientists. An army of mechanics, plumbers, electricians,
carpenters and engineers arrives as soon as access becomes possible in November or December,
working over the short summer to maintain the buildings.Most of Halley's heavy-duty vehicle drivers
are recruited from BAS adverts placed in Farmers Weekly magazine. Mike Neaverson, a farm manager,
exchanged driving tractors in Goole for driving bulldozers at Halley, clearing snow accumulation
around the station over the Antarctic summer.And everything has to be shipped in. There are no
cities in Antarctica, no roads or shops, no permanent population, nobody to summon if things go
pear-shaped."In the middle of winter you might as well be on Mars," electrician Pete Smith told me.
When the cloud lifted, everything sparkled. When it didn't, white light from a white sky met the
white ground in a wall of nothingness, my eyes skating to and fro in a search for perspective. Yet
sporting densely insulated overalls above layers of thermal fabric clothing, face protection and
thick-soled polar boots, I was warm more often than cold.But that's summer. The winter months
feature total darkness, raging storms and temperatures below -50C (-58F). Except for phone contact
and slow internet - the satellite connection is costly, and most bandwidth is reserved for science
data - isolation is total.It's no coincidence that the European Space Agency is running a long-term
flight simulation experiment at Halley, testing volunteers' ability to retain knowledge of how to
fly a Soyuz spacecraft on-screen during the long winter confinement."This is a hostile environment,
"says BAS physicist Richard Horne, visiting Halley VI for the first time when I was there.
"We rely on each other for our safety, and ultimately, for each person's survival down here. You've
got to have a whole variety of people to support life on base so we can do the science."For Peter,
the camaraderie was familiar - but much had changed."To see this place for real, it's just
incredible - the size, the scale of it. Such a far cry from anything I experienced first time
around," he said."The comfort isn't just a lifestyle issue. As a viable, fully-functioning life
support machine, Halley lets us fill the gaps in our Antarctic knowledge."Back to the Ice,
presented by Peter Gibbs and produced by Matthew Teller is on BBC Radio 4 on Sunday 6 March,
at 13:30 GMT - catch up on BBC iPlayer Radio Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter t
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