All language subtitles for Continent.7.Antarctica.S01E03.WEBRip.x264-ION10.English

*

Going to Antarctica
is a little bit

like leaving the planet.

No matter what we do
or where we go,

we're walking
where nobody's walked before.

We're looking at things
that nobody's seen before.

You feel isolated,

and the quietness
immediately hits you...

...at the same time as
the temperature drop hits you.

You realize
that you've got to have

everything you need
to survive...

...because anything can happen.

*

*

We've been in this tent,
what, about 16 hours?

That's all snow right there.

That's a snow wall
against my head.

Because of the blowing snow
and low visibility,

we're going to just stay put
until it improves.

The scientists
of the Ross Ice Shelf team

have been confined to their
tents, in a Condition 1 storm,

for almost a full day.

You can't see 30 meters
in front of you.

It's just windy.
It's snowing. It's cold.

Spending a day or more
in a tent,

it's kind of a weird concept.

A little bit nerve-racking.

So, yeah, it's not great.

*

Storms in Antarctica

have been known
to last over 12 days,

so the team is lucky
this storm broke after just one.

It's morning.

*

Wow. Can't believe
we were worried about this one.

Beautiful.

Right, pass the stuff.

I was just freezing.

It was bloody freezing
during the night.

The team has
just 14 days on the ice.

And before they can study

Antarctica's potential impact
on the rest of the world,

they have to get

to their research site first.

Wow.

We're eating up
our science time now

just because of the weather
not playing ball.

We're just really keen
to actually get started.

We're going to take the first
two measurements of their kind

on the Ross Ice Shelf,

and that water that's
underneath the Ross Ice Shelf,

that's really important.

The weather has improved
significantly here,

and we're going to get
on the move south again.

Antarctica is actually creating

very, very, cold water

that pushes down
into the deep ocean,

which then forces warmer water
to push up somewhere else,

and that conveyor belt,
as we kind of call it,

of water that's actually
circulating around the world,

redistributes heat.

That's what keeps other places
from freezing over.

You know,
the eastern seaboard of the U.S.

would be quite a lot colder

if it didn't get an injection
of warm water, which is,

that whole system is being
driven by Antarctica.

Alright, guys.

We want to really keep on
pushing along today.

We're going to try
and push onto Site X,

hopefully make it there tonight.

Everyone's happy?

Let's get some kilometers
under the belt.

Time frames are
pretty critical down here.

There's a year's worth
of planning

that have gone
into these events,

that we need to try
and make sure that we stick to.

Otherwise, there's potentially
some of the science objectives

that wouldn't be reached.

*

*

Even the smallest amount
we had kept

because we can always put it
into a soup.

There's kind of a distinct
lack of food at the moment.

We just have to make do
with what we've got.

At Scott Base,

New Zealand's
Antarctic research hub,

the storm shut down
the supply chain,

grounding
all C-17 cargo flights.

We've been delayed
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,

Saturday, and it's Sunday now,

and it's due in, taking off,
so we'll see what happens.

*

Here he comes.

To the right,
to the right, to the right.

Alright!

It landed.

*

These flights
bring in new staff,

sensitive scientific
equipment...

Freshies are coming!

...and fresh food.

If we can, like, create a chain,

it'll be a lot easier.

It's always an exciting time,

when the freshies arrive.

Food is incredibly important for
the morale of people on base.

You know, there's nothing

like a crisp apple

after you haven't had an apple

for, you know, weeks and weeks.

It's the stuff

that people dream of.

Tomatoes, tomatoes.

Tomatoes.

Eggs.

I've been craving strawberries.

Fruit will be nice.

There's quite
a few excited people

around at the moment.

Look, it's full.

About time.

Let's get these grapes inside
straightaway.

Pears.
Apples, where are the apples?

Apples are right there.

18 miles from shore

is the U.S. Coast Guard cutter,
Polar Star.

Try to keep it straight.

All ahead four, aye.

We're lined up great.

All's we gotta do
is go forward from here.

This is where we earn our money.

Let's go break some ice.

Her mission is to open a channel

for a freighter
that comes once a year.

Now she's at the edge

of 18 miles of 10-foot-thick ice
blocking the way.

It's connected
from shore to shore,

beach to beach.

It's solid ice
across an entire sound,

and that's
where the real mission starts.

The Polar Star is America's
only heavy icebreaker,

and it is the only one
that can break that channel,

so I've got the entire continent
relying on me.

I have to turn that ice
into ice cubes.

Steady on course, 1-5-5.

Are we ready?

Go to turbines.

If you can imagine
trying to drive your car

through a cement wall,

is like those supply ships

trying to drive
through that ice.

You just can't do it.
It's not made for that.

Now, take a bulldozer,

and a bulldozer
would be able to do that.

We are that bulldozer.

Switching over to turbines will
give us a lot more horsepower,

between 60,000
and 75,000 horsepower.

The Polar Star breaks ice

by surging up out of the water

and slamming down
its full 14,000-ton mass.

In order to generate
enough power,

the ship has three gas turbines,

basically jet engines modified
to drive propeller shafts,

and it takes a week
of round-the-clock throttle

to make it to shore.

Main Control, this is Morrison.

Yes, Captain.

And we just have to monitor
her shaft overloads,

as well as temperatures.

Roger.

The engine system
was built 40 years ago,

so it's carefully monitored
by Lieutenant Morrison

in Main Control.

Turbine Room, Main Control.

Standby, stand clear,

for the start of the number two
main gas turbine.

Roger,
standby for number two turbine.

Start her.

Hydrostart activated.

*

Port's up to speed.

Roger.

*

Speed?

7 knots.

Course over ground is 1-4-0.

And we're going ramming speed.

1-3-9, just about 5 right now.

*

*

*

It's kind of neat
when you see nothing but ice,

no relief.

It's amazing, the amount

of force that, and basically,

the sheer cutting strength

of ice against steel.

We are reinforced,
and we have a very thick hull.

And also, the amount of ribs in

the ship, and the hull design.

The hull design

looks like a spoon.

Most ships have a pointy bow,
or what's called the stem,

and that stem would just be

ripped off by the ice.

Okay, help the stern
come back to port.

*

This goes against all sense

and seamanship and navigation,

looking behind you
when you're driving a ship.

We preach to our young ship
handlers to always look forward,

but we look behind us,

make sure we're driving
in a straight line,

which makes it a lot easier

for the supply ship to navigate
in when we escort them.

With all the vibrations
and shaking,

there's really
no way to get relief.

We've got to just
power through it.

*

We're going to try to do

what we were going to do
yesterday, again today.

Okay, we're still intending
on one install per team,

is that right?

Yeah.

The Mount Erebus team
needs chopper time

to fly to the world's
southernmost active volcano

and cover 132 different sites

to create a 3D image
of its inner workings.

It's just a matter of

if we have enough
ground definition to land.

Then we could maybe
get some momentum.

The storm
grounded them for days,

and to make up time,

they're splitting
into two groups,

with the second team

led by associate scientist
Martyn Unsworth

and survival expert
Richie Hunter.

The cloud ceiling
will be at 8,000 feet.

Southerly winds 15 to 25 knots.

Um, so, that'll be a key factor.

Every site on Mount Erebus
is completely different.

That really worries me.

We're dealing with
completely different terrain,

and the clouds on Mount Erebus

can come in
at a moment's notice,

so some sites are at risk
of, of extreme weather.

The plan is for Danny
and Graham's team

to work site 92, on the southern
slope of the mountain...

...while Martyn and Richie head
to site 68, on the north face.

Yeah.

That whole of Mount Erebus
is a mixture of glaciers,

and it's heavily crevassed.

Some of those crevasses are far
deeper than you'd ever imagine.

They're big, black, and scary,

and the, the problem is,
they have a snow bridge,

and that makes those crevasses
completely invisible.

This site
is on a 25-degree slope,

and most choppers
can't land safely

on anything
more than 10 degrees.

*

When the slopes
exceed a safe landing angle,

I'll get out very carefully
and actually chip away

on a landing pad
on the side of the mountain.

It's very important
we're 100 percent certain

we're not on a snow bridge.

The pilot will keep the machine
under power

while we make that call.

*

I'm dealing with a volcano
underneath my feet.

It's steep angle.
It's snow and ice slopes.

If I make a mistake,
the outcome can be fatal.

*

The Mount Erebus
team's research site

is too steep
for the chopper to land on,

so field guide Richie
is stepping out, alone,

to dig out a landing pad.

This is not done very often.

The danger, of course,
is it's incredibly hard work

to be over 7,000 feet
in a polar region

and having to dig a platform.

That's the challenge.

*

*

Break the old shovel
if you're not careful.

Alright.

If you dig it too deep,

you can end up with the rotors
becoming far too close

to the slope angle
of the mountain,

so, given the risk,
you need to be on your A game,

and that, that pilot
must have complete trust

in us on the ground.

*

*

*

*

So right now, in the front,

we're coming in,
you can see the Onyx River,

longest river in Antarctica.

What a great view.

99.7 percent of Antarctica

is covered in snow and ice,

but not here, 50 miles from
Scott Base, in the Dry Valleys.

Virtually the only
life that can survive here

is microscopic.

And that's exactly why

Craig Cary and his team
are here.

We made it! Yay!

My obsession
is with understanding

how organisms can survive

in some of the most extreme
environments on the planet,

the coldest places on Earth,

the driest places on Earth.

And the Dry Valleys

is the coldest,
driest place in the world.

How's it going, buddy?

Good to see you again.

Yeah.
Good to see you, man.

The Dry Valleys is the largest
ice-free area on the continent,

so, likely, it's got
the most biology.

Made it to Miers.

What a beautiful valley.

Kind of nice to come
into a big camp like this,

with all of our colleagues.

For 21 days,

12 scientists
will break into 3 teams...

Another bright, sunny day.

Time for some more work.

...to cover 50 miles

across Miers, Wright, Victoria,
and Taylor valleys...

Today is the first
of our sample sites.

It's going to be fun.

...to learn
what the climate, the soil,

and the microbial life
can teach us

about our own ability
to adapt to a changing planet.

These systems are very unique,

and as things change,
climate-wise,

they're going to change
and could change irreversibly.

Species could die, and as
the stewards of this planet,

we shouldn't
tolerate extinction.

How long do you think
you guys are going to be?

At least eight hours.

Yeah.

I'm a slowpoke.

We got a couple of sites
to knock off this afternoon,

and we got one group going to
the eastern side of the valley.

Let's go.

We've got people moving

from Miers
up to the Wright Valley.

SD card?

Yes.

This is exciting.

So, Paul. Hey, Paul.

What, so, what's,
what's up for today?

So, I'm going
to head down there now,

and then we'll fly.

Okay.

We'll see how it goes,
what the weather does.

Keep us in the loop.

Geospatial technician
Paul Bealing

and climatologist
Marwan Katurji...

Okay, Marwan,
go a little bit clockwise.

Two degrees.

Two degrees.

...are creating a 3D map

of the unique microclimates
that exist in the Dry Valleys.

The climate group's
experiment flying

was the final peg in the hole
that's going to create

probably one of
the most interesting experiments

that we've run in the valleys
since I've been working here.

It's a big day.

Nervous now, gotta fly.

I always get nervous
before I fly.

Anything can happen.

We go to the Dry Valleys

because the surface cover
is very simple,

and we can do observations

that we can't do
anywhere else in the world.

So, I'm going to start, Peyman.

Okay.

The drone
captures what's happening

at the upper levels

of the atmosphere,

and that's combined with data

from the lower levels,

where most human activity

takes place,

to create a complete model.

Okay, diags is running.

What I've done now is set up
the high-end infrared camera,

and what we're trying to do
is measure

the surface temperature
of different surfaces,

the coldest being the lake,
obviously,

so the blue violet colors.

And this is one of the dynamics

we're trying to capture
in our analysis.

That's what we want.

Weather is a global phenomenon,

and whatever happens
in Antarctica

will affect eventually weather
in different areas in the world.

Temperature, zero Celsius.

Every now and then,
the wind picks up.

My main focus is the surface.

A few meters above the ground
is where people live,

where we grow our crops,
so this is why it is important.

Good enough.

Alright.

Next is flying the UAV.

*

*

*

When we break ice,

it's like, imagine a 10,
12 Richter scale earthquake.

To be on board
during that experience,

just imagine yourself
in an earthquake for a week,

nonstop.

With all engines firing,

the Polar St can smash through
about 950 feet of ice per hour.

That means it has to break
14 hours a day

in order to finish in a week.

Most boats
don't like to go through

even a thin layer of ice,

and we're going
through six-foot, seven-foot,

eight-foot chunks of ice
continuously.

We're asking a lot
of a very old ship.

My God.

We're getting
an odd amount of water

dripping from the number 90
turbine enclosure.

Why is that doing that?

We've got an alarm.
Send somebody to investigate it.

Want me to put
the propulsion mode in neutral?

You can put them all in neutral.

We can't go anywhere.

Something's going wrong.

Main Control, Bridge.

We're seeing some fluctuation
in the readings up here.

Put the engines
on 30-minute standby.

Alright, well.

Okay, two hours?

Turbines off, ma'am.
It's secure.

Roger.

We have to shut down propulsion

and have experts on board
determine what's going on.

If I lose a shaft, it's going to
cause all sorts of problems.

If you can imagine
trying to drive your car

with three wheels...
it won't work.

So, the engineers
have to take time to fix it,

and that slows my progress down.

Potentially, could cause
the mission to fail.

Can you go investigate?

Micronet. Reset.

Working on it.

Trying to get it to be happy.

Come on, ****.

*

Do you have an ETR?

Give us like, two, two hours.

Two hours. Roger.

Just an hour
into a week of breaking ice,

a malfunctioning turbine

has the Polar Star
dead in the water.

Hello, Captain.

Copeland found a bolt
that had come undone,

so he's going to
repair that now.

Thank you, Captain.

Yep.

The anti-rotation bar
is inside the shaft assembly.

Each propeller shaft

has an individual
oil distribution box.

The anti-rotation bar
keeps it from moving

while the shaft spins.

If the bar breaks, the OD box
will twist itself apart,

shutting the whole system down.

Because of the shaking
of the ship,

just like the paper clip

gets bent and bent
and bent and breaks,

so we don't have spares,

so we have to manufacture them
from scratch.

She's old. We got to baby her,
keep her going.

So, we're doing a repair
for the anti-rotation bar

in the number one shaft.

So, we're welding a new one
before anything bad happens.

The shaking of the ice, I mean,
it's violent, and it's nonstop.

12 hours of violent shaking,
stuff's going to break,

so we're just trying to prevent
that from happening again.

She's an old girl.

We're not going
to let her quit, though.

*

That should be good.

The turbine shaft runs
along the bottom of the hull,

through a labyrinth of pipes
and mechanical systems.

We're going to leave it
right here for now

because we got to take
that apart first.

And before
they can replace it...

Get that antirotation bar
in there.

...they have to climb
through and prep it.

Our job is to break the channel

so that we can get
those supply ships in there

and resupply the continent.

Can you get some bilge filters?

So, they don't realize it,

but the crew down below

has the weight of the entire
continent on their shoulders.

*

7,000 feet up Mount Erebus,

Martyn and his team are on the
leeward side of the mountain,

and the conditions
are slowing them to a crawl.

This will be
a pretty challenging site

for the crew today.

We're riddled with gradient.

We've got sastrugi,
which is this surface snow,

heavily affected
by wind, sun, or precipitation.

It's been absolutely hammered
over the last two weeks.

Sastrugi sort of forms ripples
in the snow,

and you've probably seen
something sort of similar

at a beach,
where the wind carves the sand

into some really
quite incredible patterns.

Now, the sastrugi in Antarctica
can get up to a meter high,

so it's incredibly challenging
to dig in.

Sometimes the shovel just
bounces straight back off it.

But it's very slippery,
hard to walk on.

And we all know that if any gear
disappears, not to chase it.

We just wave it good-bye.

The team
is working to bury sensors

to create a 3D picture of
the volcano's inner magma flow.

Pretty much centered,
which is what we're looking for,

and we'll just double-check
the orientation.

Yep, it's magnetic north,

which is not the same
as geographic down here.

It's actually,
quite a bit different.

And each site requires

$100,000 worth
of highly sensitive electronics.

Up here, the snow has got

some volcanic ash in it
and other stuff,

which makes it
a little bit more conductive.

Come on.

So, we're just waiting here
for the instrument to start.

Richie, just we're having a bit
of a computer issue here.

Okay.

We have to see
it's working before we leave.

Otherwise,
there's really no point.

Um, we need to work
as quick as we can.

I think one of these
cables is a little bit flakey.

We want to reconsider our time.

Yeah, I think we've gone
over our ground time actually.

Scott Base, Scott Base.
Richie.

Just a bit of an update for you.
We're still on site here.

We'll be intending on leaving
here approximately 11:20.

We're going to try
and hustle here, guys,

so just keep on,
keep on winding the dial.

Yeah, we're just waiting
on this thing,

and sometimes, Richie,
these guys just don't cooperate.

Mount Erebus has
a significant level of exposure.

Based on the terrain
that we're operating in,

it's a steep angle.

We're dealing with a volcano,

so we're potentially
looking at projectiles

coming out of that, that crater
from time to time.

If we have a delay, there can be
a significant safety concern.

That's when things
can really go seriously wrong.

We have got the GPS working.

Someone just throw me
a jacket a minute.

I'm just having
a hard time seeing.

Okay, test data looks great.

It's going.
It's looking good.

Okay, let's get out of here.

Antarctica's a stunning place,

but it's incredibly dangerous.

There're so many things
that could go wrong.

The risk is always there.
It's always changing.

Let's cool that good.

So, there's a satisfaction

of getting back home
at the end of the day.

*

*

52 miles away in Miers Valley...

It's really cold today.
Light winds.

I hate to think
what it's doing up there.

Paul is ready to put
his drone in the air

for the first time.

See what happens.

I'll come fire up
the probe, okay?

It records temperature,

wind speed, and moisture
50 times a second,

and captures
high-definition images.

And the probe.

Camera is on, probe is on.

The equipment on board
is custom-made

by guys
that make stuff for NASA.

You do all your checks, man?

Yep, yes, we did.

So, we've got
around 80 grand in the air.

Looks good.

Ready?

Oui, monsieur.

Let's pull the pin
on this hand grenade.

Pin in 3, 2, 1.

Okay, are you ready?

Confirm.

I'm getting nervous.

When I'm flying,
don't talk to me.

I never feel relaxed
when this thing's in the air.

Anything could happen.

Okay, here we go.

Alrighty, let's get this thing
in the sky.

Alright, probe is out.

Probe is out.
It's at waypoint?

Yes.

Waypoint engaged.

To get a complete data set,

the autopilot flies the drone

on a set path
at different altitudes,

over and over again.

Alright, it's turning
around its waypoint.

Heading east?

Yep.

Perfect.

Halfway to its second waypoint

and then make a right-hand turn.

And it's designed to fly

in wind speeds over 40 knots.

It's doing well.

So far, everything's
working according to plan.

It's maintaining
its 100-foot altitude.

I've got good battery voltage.

Just have to wait for it
to finish.

So, now it's halfway
along its path.

It's struggling a bit
through the wind.

Yeah, there's definitely
quite a bit of wind up there.

It's 29 knots.
It's really blowing up there.

You wouldn't believe.

Climb to 100 feet.

33 knots!

34, 35, 37, 39, 40, 42.

What's it doing?

Drifted a bit.

Yeah, it missed
its waypoint, did it?

Yeah.

I've never seen that before.

Not a good sign.

Is the orientation
on the compass wrong?

It's way off track.

I think it got a strong gust.

It's starting to get, like,
beyond its capability.

Yeah,
the compass is off by 180, man.

Want me to go manual?

Yeah, just go.

Okay, we'll go manual.

Heart rate goes up.

You need to know how
to fly the thing manually

because things go wrong.

It always gets knocked around
there?

I don't mind flying
in some wind,

but when you're getting up
some really high wind speed,

there's always a bit of nerves.

Let's see how straight
you can fly in this wind.

I'm just going to pick
a point on the horizon

and go for it.

We've just brought the one UAV,

so, if the plane crashes,
we go home.

Doing some funkiness there.

We've got winds coming
from the other direction now.

44, 45, 47, 49 knots.

That's over 100 kilometers
an hour.

I'm going to write this down.

50, 52, 53, 54...

59, 60!

Record.

It's still pointing
in the right direction?

It's drifting towards us.

What's it doing?

The curse of Antarctica.

What's it doing?

It's still pointing
in the right direction?

It's drifting towards us.

Paul is flying

the climate team's
$80,000 drone system.

It's fighting so much wind.

It just can't handle it.

And the winds are
gusting to 70 miles per hour.

Maintain heading.
I'll tell you when to turn.

Thank you. That's good.

Do a right-hand turn
in 3, 2, 1, now.

How's that?

That's good.
Maintain heading.

That's easier said than
done when it's blowing 54 knots.

You're doing good.

We're seeing

60-knot average wind speeds,

which is very high.

The most I've ever flown in
is about 50 knots.

Left-hand turn a bit.
Keep going.

But, yeah,
there's obviously more pressure

to make the most
of the remaining time we've got.

It's got to move south a bit.

And if we don't fly,

they're going to be missing

the last component of the data

that they planned on getting.

A right-hand turn again
in 3, 2, 1.

I think it just can't handle it.

It's too much wind for it.

We'll do a couple more,
and we'll call it off.

Do a left-hand adjustment
a little bit.

Like that?

Because it's struggling
into that wind,

it's using battery up faster.

We might have to land.

Keep going.
Almost there.

Right-hand turn, now.

A low battery.

Now I've got a battery left.
I'm coming home.

Okay. That's good.

The team has a complete data set

from higher altitude,

but they still need to get
the drone back in one piece.

We've got to figure out
where we're going to land.

So, this dry, dusty sand
gets into the motor,

so we're going to try and land
on this wet sand.

Of course, the danger with that
is there's a river,

so if we overshoot our landing
and we end up in the drink,

that'll be bad.

The gear is not waterproof.

You ready?

Retract the probe, please,
Marwan.

Okay, the probe
should be retracted.

Okay, good.

*

You like how I hopped the river?

How cool was that?

Outstanding!

So, from the angle
I was standing back there,

there's a bit of terrain.

You can see the skid mark.

Bounce. Jumped.

We have data!

We got data?

Yeah, we got 21 megabytes.

So, I'm thinking it was
quite stagnant on this side.

There was localized
high pressure,

and that will basically
push the high winds

a bit further south
to the valley.

Could be one of the hypothesis
what you're observing here.

I think we got really good data
from the UAV this year.

We were able to fly

from the sandy surface
of the Dry Valleys

over the frozen lake,

so we were able to measure
two different surface types,

but also wind speed
and temperature

from the surface
up to 300 feet above the ground,

so we have information

on how the upper wind systems
interact with those surfaces,

so thankfully
we achieved what we wanted.

Certainly interesting.

Well done.

That's the highest
wind speed I've ever flown in,

so that was exciting.

I'm officially
a copilot now, not a scientist.

*

We're down
to a couple hundred meters

left to, turn off.

And from there, we'll be in
completely uncharted territory

where we finally pull up.

We're going to step foot

where probably no other human
has ever stepped foot before,

which is
a pretty unique feeling.

After days of delays
and punishing driving,

the Ross Ice Shelf team is
finally in sight of their goal.

Less than 200 meters,
the traverse of 2015,

and the end of a saga.

Woo-hoo!

Team is approaching.

375 kilometers,

an average speed
of 12.1 kilometers an hour,

a total moving time
of 30 hours and 56 minutes.

Wow.

Hey, look!

Woo!

We were getting
quite bored of driving.

Finally to get there,
that's a magical moment.

You know, we've just dragged
all this equipment out there,

you know,
a few hundred thousand dollars,

several years of planning,

six months of construction,
and then it all comes together.

*

We're in the middle
of nowhere right now.

Well, congratulations.

Yeah!

We're about 367 kilometers
from, Scott Base,

where we left
four or so days ago.

Right on! Okay.

Rob T.

2015, yeah!

This is where
we're going to call home

for the next week or so,

so, we're going to make camp.

It's going to be
a busy week or so ahead.

We've got a lot of
science objectives to complete,

and hopefully, fingers crossed,
all goes well,

they'll find what they're
looking for on the seabed.

It's only just begun.

*

Just looking at the map,

looking what we already have,
where things are.

After deploying an extra team,

Graham and Danny are checking
on the season's progress,

and the news isn't good.

Last week, we didn't do much,

because of weather, at all.

We'll never finish.

A lot of places to go still.

There are 59 completed.

There are 10 in the ground.

There are 2 left to repeat
and 62 incompleted,

so it's a bit grim.

I don't think
we have any chance.

These are some of the most
expensive measurements ever,

ever made in the world.

Because just the amount

of resource and infrastructure

that goes into making these

measurements is, is huge.

And it's not looking like
we're going to quite manage

to get it done.

I wasn't expecting it.

Yeah, it seems
a bit daunting at this point.

If we get a good weather run,

we, we'll be able
to catch up a bit, hopefully.

So, basically we just
need flying days, but we'll see.

We're not really in control
of the flight schedule.

It's hugely frustrating,

but you also have to realize
that's part of the game

when you sign up

to work in Antarctica.

And we'll keep plugging away
with hard work.

Feels like
it's going to be stable

for the next two flying days,
which is perfect.

To get another four done
by the end of the week

would be great.

One day at a time.

*

The Polar Star
has been paralyzed for hours.

OX for Main Control, go ahead.

While
Lieutenant Morrison and the team

improvised a fix
for one of the turbines.

I don't think you're ready
to get it down there.

Now, the only thing
to do is install it...

It's slippery down here.

...under tons and tons
of equipment.

Right now, we are
underneath the starboard shaft

in the motor room, in the bilge.

Right out there, a little
further down, is the water.

It's actually really cold
right here.

Main Control, Con.

Roger, okay.
Thank you.

Yeah.

This ship is 40 years old.

Got it?

Yeah.

Older than most
of the people on board.

Pretty close?

Alright, go up a little.

Alright, that's good.

Alright.

The young men and women
down below deck

sacrifice their time and their
families and holiday seasons.

They work night and day to make
sure this ship stays under way,

that those propellers
keep turning.

Just as long
as you jam that super tight.

I'll give it one more crank.

Ready?

Yep.

It's pretty amazing
to see what they can do.

You guys got yours
all tightened up?

Yeah.

This whole mechanism right
above us is pretty significant,

So, the more secure this is,

the less vibration and damage
we can cause.

We don't have anything
supporting this OD box,

this shaft is not rolling,

and that would be it
for the Polar Star.

Are we all good
down there, guys?

Installed, ready to go.

Alright,
we're going to start coming out.

Hopefully
it will hold this time.

*

Are you standing by,
number three main gas turbine?

You ready for a start?

Standby, stand clear for a start

on number three
main gas turbine.

Standby, stand clear for a start

of the number three
main gas turbine!

Chief, we're ready
to go on the port turbine.

Main gas turbine,
port shaft up to speed.

Roger.

Restart number one.

*

Where we at?

Fuel pressure
seems to be holding.

Check your regulator.
Make sure you have pressure.

Pressure is 55.

Good, you are good.

Alright.

Woo!

Roger.
System intact, lube oil, 2-0.

Solid, dude, solid.

Yeah, our motto is,
'You break it, we fix it.'

Nice. Success.

They have inspected it
and found it to be normal,

so we're safe to operate now,

and, resume
icebreaking operations.

Hopefully it won't vibrate as
much, and the repair will hold.

That's probably the number one
challenge for Polar Star

is to keep her operational.

I'm very, very proud
of these young people.

But we're falling way behind.

All have four.

Helmsman, all add four.

We have to work around the clock

to finish the channel before
the supply ships get here.