
The McMurdo Station in Real-Life
McMurdo Station is a real-life U.S. Antarctic research center on the south tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program, a branch of the National Science Foundation. The station is the largest community in Antarctica, capable of supporting up to 1,258 residents, and serves as the United States Antarctic science facility. The station is mentioned in the 1982 film The Thing, with radio operator Windows attempting multiple times to contact the station for assistance following the Norwegian shootings at U.S. Outpost 31.