Editing Transport in Antarctica (section)

===Vehicles===
[[File:David Huebner, United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa visit to Antarctica on December 2, 2010 (Day 4) - 38.jpg|thumb|left|Tucker Sno-cat at [[McMurdo Station]], [[Ross Island]]. 2010]]
The scarcity and poor quality of road infrastructure limits land transportation by conventional vehicles.

A normal car on tires has very limited capability in Antarctic conditions.  Scientific bases are often built on snow-free areas ([[Antarctic oasis|oases]]) close to the
ocean.  Around these stations and on a hard packed snow or ice, tire based vehicles can drive but on deeper and softer snow, a normal tire-based vehicle cannot travel.  Due to these limitations, vehicles on belts have been the preferred option in Antarctica.  In 1997, two specialized cars with very large tires running tire pressure as low as {{cvt|1.5|psi|bar}} travelled onto the high Antarctica Plateau, giving strong indication that tire based vehicles could be an option for efficient travelling in Antarctica.<ref>{{Cite web |last=By |date=2014-09-08 |title=Arctic Trucks Blog: 1997 Antarctica Expedition |url=https://arctictrucks.com/blog/2014/09/08/1997-antarctica/ |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=Arctic Trucks |language=en-US}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}
[[File:VW Beetle "Antarctica 1".jpg|thumb|''Antarctica 1'' towing a sleigh in 1963]]
[[Mawson Station]] used classic [[Volkswagen Beetle]]s, the first production cars to be utilized in Antarctica, from 1963 to 1970. The first of these was named the ''Antarctica 1''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-06-24 |title=Antarctica 1 — Volkswagens in Antarctica – Magazine Issue 28: June 2015 – Australian Antarctic Program |url=https://www.antarctica.gov.au/magazine/issue-28-june-2015/history/antarctica-1-volkswagens-in-antarctica/ |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=www.antarctica.gov.au |language=en}}</ref>

In December 1997 into February 1998 two AT44, 4x4 cars (built in Iceland by Arctic Trucks with tire size of 44-inch tall) joined an expedition by the Swedish Polar Institution (SWEA).  The cars got used to transport people and supplies from the Ice shelf to WASA station, to perform scanning of the snow and support a drilling expedition to on the Antarctica Plateau 76°S 8°03'W.  This is the first time tire based vehicles successfully travel on the Antarctica high plateau.
[[File:Ice Challenger at Patriot Hills, Antarctica.jpg|thumb|Ice Challenger vehicle at Patriot Hills, 2005]]
In 2005, a team of six people took part in the [[Ice Challenger Expedition]]. Travelling in a specially designed six wheel drive vehicle, the team completed the journey from the [[Antarctic]] coast at Patriot Hills to the geographic [[South Pole]] in 69 hours. In doing so they easily beat the previous record of 24 days. They arrived at the South Pole on December 12, 2005.<ref>[http://www.icechallenger.co.uk/ Ice Challenger 2005 <!-- Bot generated title -->] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061128092753/http://www.icechallenger.co.uk/ |date=November 28, 2006 }} Retrieved on 2008-10-14</ref>
[[File:Foremost Nodwell 240 emergency vehicle.JPEG|thumb|Foremost Nodwell 240 in Antarctica]]
The team members on that expedition were [[Andrew Regan]], [[Jason De Carteret]], Andrew Moon, Richard Griffiths, Gunnar Egilsson and Andrew Miles. The expedition successfully showed that wheeled transport on the continent is not only possible but also often more practical. The expedition also hoped to raise awareness about global warming and climate change.

From start of December 2008 into February 2009, four AT44, 4x4 cars were used to support a ski race by Amundsen Omega 3, from S82° 41' E17° 43' to South Pole.   A film was made of this race by BBC called "On Thin Ice" with Ben Fogle and James Cracknell.   The cars started from Novo airbase at S70° 49' E11° 38', establish a route onto the plateau through the crevasse areas in the Shcherbakov Mountain Range driving nearly {{cvt|1500|km|mi}} to the start line of the ski race.  For the return journey each car covered between {{cvt|5400|and|5800|km|mi}} with one fuel depot on the way.

From 2008 to date (Dec 2015) tire based cars, AT44 4x4 and AT44 6x6 have been used every season to support various NGO and scientific expedition/projects, supporting flights, fuel drops, filming, skiers, biker, a tractor, collecting snow samples and more.  The combined distance covered on the Antarctica Plateau is over {{cvt|220,000|km|mi}} and even though towing capacity is much lower than for most belt based vehicles, the tire based cars multiply the travel speed and use only a fraction of the fuel making this an option for some expeditions/projects.

A second expedition led by Andrew Regan and Andrew Moon departed in November 2010. The Moon-Regan Trans Antarctic Expedition this time traversed the entire continent twice, using two six-wheel-drive vehicles and a [[Concept Ice Vehicle]] designed by Lotus.<ref>[http://www.transantarcticexpedition.com/ Trans Antarctic Expedition <!-- Bot generated title -->] Retrieved on 2011-02-20</ref> This time the team used the expedition to raise awareness about the global environmental importance of the Antarctic region and to show that [[biofuel]] can be a viable and environmentally friendly option.