international
polar
foundation

Upon their arrival at Utsteinen, the members of BELARE 2008-2009 found the entrance to the garage covered by huge piles of snow. The same was true for everything else left outside from last year's expedition. The snow in front of the garage entrance was piled up almost to the roof. The station, on the other hand, we found to be completely uncovered by snow, just as the wind tunnel tests on a model of the station had predicted.

The BELARE 2008-2009 expedition has now truly begun. The footage in this short movie was filmed upon arriving at Utsteinen. Alain Hubert opens the station's front door for the first time in eight months. In his speech, Alain reiterates the importance of the first "zero emission" research station in Antarctica for future generations.

The BELARE 2008-2009 expedition has now truly begun. The footage in this short movie was filmed upon arriving at Utsteinen. Alain Hubert opens the station's front door for the first time in eight months. In his speech, Alain reiterates the importance of the first "zero emission" research station in Antarctica for future generations.

The BELARE 2008-2009 expedition has now truly begun. The footage in this short movie was filmed upon arriving at Utsteinen. Alain Hubert opens the station's front door for the first time in eight months. In his speech, Alain reiterates the importance of the first "zero emission" research station in Antarctica for future generations.

The BELARE 2008-2009 expedition has now truly begun. The footage in this short movie was filmed upon arriving at Utsteinen. Alain Hubert opens the station's front door for the first time in eight months. In his speech, Alain reiterates the importance of the first "zero emission" research station in Antarctica for future generations.

The BELARE 2008-2009 expedition has now truly begun. The footage in this short movie was filmed upon arriving at Utsteinen. Alain Hubert opens the station's front door for the first time in eight months. In his speech, Alain reiterates the importance of the first "zero emission" research station in Antarctica for future generations.

A scaled mock-up of the Princess Elisabeth station's technical core was built at Laborelec (research centre of the group GDF SUEZ) in Linkebeek. For the past three and a half months, the technical systems allowing the station to reach "zero emission" were pre-assembled inside the mock-up for prior integration tests. Here is a short sequence on the assembly of the ventilation system inside the roof of the station.Copyright credits: Electrabel / GDF SUEZ.

A scaled mock-up of the Princess Elisabeth station's technical core was built at Laborelec (research centre of the group GDF SUEZ) in Linkebeek. For the past three and a half months, the technical systems allowing the station to reach "zero emission" were pre-assembled inside the mock-up for prior integration tests. Here is a short sequence on the assembly of the ventilation system inside the roof of the station.Copyright credits: Electrabel / GDF SUEZ.

A scaled mock-up of the Princess Elisabeth station's technical core was built at Laborelec (research centre of the group GDF SUEZ) in Linkebeek. For the past three and a half months, the technical systems allowing the station to reach "zero emission" were pre-assembled inside the mock-up for prior integration tests. Here is a short sequence on the assembly of the ventilation system inside the roof of the station.Copyright credits: Electrabel / GDF SUEZ.