The Research Program of the International Biomedical Expedition to the Antarctic (IBEA) and its Implications for Research in Outer Space

Antarctica is a vast continent that is about 13.5 million km2, and much the same size as the United States and Mexico combined. It is the coldest place on Earth, with the lowest temperature recorded at Vostock of -121° C. Unlike the Arctic, it is a landmass with an average ice thickness of 2 km rather than a central ocean with an average ice thickness of 3.35 m (Couper, 1983, pp. 62–63). It holds more than 90% of the world’s ice, and were it to begin to thaw, some of the major capitols of the world would be flooded (Browne, 1984, pp. 45–48).