2020-2021 USAP Field Season
Station and Vessel Schedules

The United States Antarctic Program operates three permanent research stations on the continent and two research vessels.

Opening Dates

	Austral Summer Openings		Austral Winter Openings
	Operational	Science	Austral Winter Openings
McMurdo (Early Season*)	19 Aug 2020	22 Aug 2020 19 Sep 2020	24 Feb 2021
McMurdo (Mainbody)	30 Sep 2020	2 Oct 2020	24 Feb 2021
South Pole	4 Nov 2020	4 Nov 2020	15 Feb 2021
Palmer	2 Dec 2020	20 Apr 2021	11 Apr 2021
Research Vessels	Vessels Operate Year-Round (Find Vessel Schedules)
*A limited number of science projects deploy early

Estimated Population

	Summer	Winter
McMurdo	850 (weekly average) 2,300 (total)	180 (winter total)
South Pole	62 (weekly average) 62 (total)	42 (winter total)
Palmer	23 (weekly average)
RV/IB* NBP	45 science and staff
ARSV** LMG	Capacity per cruise: 27 science and staff Capacity per transit to/from Palmer Station: 37 science and staff with two berthing vans.
RV/IB, Research Vessel/Icebreaker *ARSV, Antarctic Research Support Vessel

Find information about projects approved for the 2020-2021 USAP field season using the available indexes.

Additional information pertaining to the 2020-2021 Field Season.

Download the PDF version of the 2020-2021 Science Planning Summaries below.

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