• Question: is there any animals were you are?

    Asked by alex_lauren_lexie to Beth on 13 Oct 2015. This question was also asked by octokoala27136, LORD_BENDTNER_101, Naina23.
    • Photo: Beth Healey

      Beth Healey answered on 13 Oct 2015:

      No but there are lot’s of penguins which live at the coast and I am looking forward to seeing on my journey home.

      The conditions here are too extreme for anything to survive here, so as far as we know we are the only living things here at Concordia currently.

      However one of the experiments I am running here is called Bacfinder which involves me taking snow samples which we will later analyse and look for extreme bacteria called ‘Extremophiles’ to see if they can survive here. If they can survive here in Antarctica then perhaps they will also be able to live on planets with similar conditions to here like Mars.

    • Photo: Beth Healey

      Beth Healey answered on 13 Oct 2015:

      Hi, alex_lauren_lexie! This is Adrianos from Greece, I am Beth’s predecessor as a research doctor for the European Space Agency in Antarctica and I am filling in for her today due to connectivity problems over there.

      Our research Station, Concordia, is located in the middle of the Antarctic continent and the temperatures are very low (minus 80 degrees Celsius in the winter)! interestingly enough, no animals or plants survive at such an environment. We are currently looking for microorganisms, like bacteria, which are more resistant. To me it’s quite mind-blowing to think that humans have managed to inhabit a place on the Earth where no animals can survive, all thanks to science and technology, is it not?

      There are animals to be found further away, near the coast of Antarctica. Birds, penguins, seals and whales! That’s quite a marvel to behold after you’ve spent a year in the sole company of humans 🙂

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