Crewmembers of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star prepare to depart from Sydney, Australia before deploying to Antarctica as part of Operation Deep Freeze 2017, Jan. 1, 2017.
The primary mission of the Polar Star is to establish a resupply channel through Antarctic ice to allow for cargo and fuel ships to safely reach the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station.
(U.S. Coast Guard photos by Chief Petty Officer David Mosley)