McMurdo Station not only is a scientific station in its own right, it also serves as the logistical hub for much of this part of the continent. This means that other Antarctic programs such as the New Zealand, Australian, Italian and sometimes others, will transport through McMurdo on their way to their own stations. Today, Pegasus Field received twenty-two members of the Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide (The Italian Antarctic Program) arrived on a C-17 and transported to Mario Zucchelli Station at Terra Nova Bay. It would be interesting to go there some day, as I hear the food is wonderful (how could it not be with Italians doing the cooking?), but I'm not counting on it ever happening. My friend, Carly in Fleet Ops took these photos of the operation out at the airfield. We will probably have more Italians (and a few Koreans that work with them as well) transiting through here in the next few weeks and then later in the year, we reverse the process. It all gives this place a more "international" flavor.
