Some time before my departure, I had the opportunity to spend a week in Plouzané on the premises of the French Polar Institute (IPEV), the organisation that manages the logistics for my mission to Dumont d’Urville (DDU).
There I met the future overwinterers from the Antarctic bases (DDU and Dome C at Concordia) and the Sub-Antarctic (Crozet, Amsterdam and Kerguelen). The IPEV institut offered us a mix of activities and presentations, which gave the future overwinterers, including myself, the chance to ask the last questions they had.
Most of them are civic service volunteers (VSC). Many of them are the versatile little hands of scientific work on the bases. Like astronauts, they collect data and carry out experiments in hostile environments. They are paid very little for their skills. Then there are the technical staff without whom the base cannot function: the cook, the baker, the heating engineers, the carpenter, the mechanics, the toolmakers, etc., the station manager and the doctor. And then there are us, the 3 Météo-France employees. In total, there will be 24 overwinterers, including 7 female this year for the 74th mission to Dumont d’Urville.
Finally, this meeting was an opportunity to meet the staff who help with the administration and logistics of our missions.