An imaginary trip to Antarctica illustrated by numerous videos !

To view the video click on the image

	Getting to Antarctica 2009 Denis Burgarella (OAMP) The trip from Europe to Concordia takes very long, typically around 10 days, including six days on the ice-breaker "l'Astrolabe", and a good 40 hours spent in various airplanes around the world.
	Astrolab takes us from the Tasmanian summer to the Antarctic coast 2005 Tatyana Sadibekova The 6-day trip on the Astrolab takes us from the Tasmanian summer to the Antarctic coast, where being surrounded by the majesty of these icebergs is a real award after suffering the chaotic southern oceans.
	Astrolab - how the trip looks like ? 2008 Eric Fossat On the very first day of the trip, the Astrolab begins to be shaken, and that is just next to nothing as compared to the following 5 days. Generally between 5 and 10 passengers, out of the 47, attend the meals. That is the price to pay for bringing back unforgettable souvenirs.
	Helicopter used to transport personnel in Antarctica RÃ©alisation : Yvon Le Gars, Production : ABER Images ? 2009 IPEV Early in summer, when the sea ice is not melted enough yet, it happens almost every year that the Astrolab cannot reach its final destination. That is an additional difficulty for the cargo transportation, but also one more reward for the passengers, who finish their trip in helicopter.
	Paradise for Adelie and Empereur pinguins ? 2005 Tatyana Sadibekova The Astrolab trip ends up normally at Dumont d'Urville, the French station in Adelie Territory. It is located on a small island very near to the real Antarctic coast, and it is a paradise for Adelie (40 cm high) and Empereur (80 cm high) pinguins.
	A few young Empereurs ... ? 2005 Tatyana Sadibekova A few young Empereurs have not finished to lose their teenager down. That will take them able to dive and to hunt for food by themselves. One can also see a few Adelie passing around, the two groups live together without problems.
	Empereur Adults ... ? 2005 Tatyana Sadibekova Empereur adults are ready to quit and to leave their young children who are now almost able to be self sufficient. But clearly these young guys still vehemently complain. They still doubt they can really swim with their residual down...
	The small Adelie pinguins ? 2005 Tatyana Sadibekova These small Adelie pinguins are more than 60000 just on the Dumont d'Urville island, where they are now used to share their territory with humans.
	Heavy cargo transporter from Dumont d'Urville to Concordia R?alisation : Yvon Le Gars, Production : ABER Images ? 2009 IPEV From Dumont d'Urville to Concordia, all the heavy cargo is transported by this ground traverse of 1100 km. It consists of around 10 bulldozers that carry containers, with additional vehicules that permanently surface and resurface the track. The trip up takes two weeks, while it only takes 10 days to come back down. 3 return trips are made every summer and carry a total load of about 450 tons of material.
	Overflying the Concordia station in Twin Otterr R?alisation : Yvon Le Gars, Production : ABER Images ? 2009 IPEV Arriving onboard the Twin-Otter airplane at Concordia is one of the most magic moments of each expedition. It seems so unlikely to meet anything out there, after several hours of flying above this white desert!
	Landing at Concordia R?alisation : Yvon Le Gars, Production : ABER Images ? 2009 IPEV Landing is the next ecstatic moment. Those who are arriving there for the first time have their heart pulse rate adjusted at maximum. Finally, here we are, the civilization seems already so distant ...
	The Concordia Station ? 2009 IPEV Finally, Concordia, the station itself, where we are welcomed by those who have arrived before our group. They were themselves welcomed by the winter-over crew, who had not seen any other human being for more than 9 months. That is finally quite similar to a long duration space mission.
	Telescopes and instruments In the surrounding noise of the wind in the microphone, you can still hear Zalpha and Erick, the two astronomers who have wintered over in 2008, explaining what has been their daily life during one year.
	Coldness, an enemy for astronomers in Antarctica ? 2009 IPEV Already in summer with only -25?C, it is visibly difficult to work outside. Then imagine what it can be in winter when it goes down to -60 and even -80?C sometimes! This extreme cold is somewhat fascinating but also frightening. No one single centimeter of skin can be left in contact with the outside air and in fact even the eye surface can freeze in just one second.