Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 23-26 October 2022: Waiting In Cape Town

Sun, 23 Oct 2022 6:42 AM

Keith

Sorry for the quiet – we are still here in Cape Town awaiting better weather down south. We had hoped to depart last Wed, and then perhaps today, but it looks like Tuesday will be our best shot. I will drop you a note after we have a logistic/weather update tomorrow.

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 4:48 PM

Keith,

Quick note – we had our pre-flight Covid PCR tests today and everyone on the team was negative. Had hoped to hit the road tomorrow, but winds down south have caused drifting on the ice-runway and it will take an additional day to groom it so we will now depart on Wed morning at 9am. It looks like the weather should remain pretty fair for a few days and if we are fortunate, maybe we will head to Untersee sooner rather than later! We will see how logistics and weather play out once we are on the ice; we are eager to get to work and I know we will be busy pulling the traverse together as soon as possible. I will keep you posted as we move forward.

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 1:51 AM

Keith,

It is a nice day in Cape Town, sunny and bright, and we are heading to Antarctica! Hope to be boarding the aircraft in about 40 min with a 9am scheduled departure. My next note will be from Antarctica!

Astrobiology