McMurdo Station is a U.S. Antarctic research centre located on the southern 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. All personnel and cargo going to or coming from Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station first pass through McMurdo.

A ballet dancer attends a photo shooting as activists from the environmentalist group Greenpeace unfurl a giant banner on the Eiffel Tower which reads “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” in a call on French citizens to vote against the National Front (FN) presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, in Paris, France May 5, 2017. (Photo by Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters)

Chinese aids activists hand out condoms in a subway train in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province on December 1, 2014. The World Health Organization issued a call to action to China on December 1, 2014 over HIV/AIDS as government figures said nearly half a million people are living with the disease or its precursor, with hundreds of thousands more thought to be undiagnosed. (Photo by AFP Photo)

Indian commuters wade through floodwaters during the continuous rain shower in Calcutta, India, July 10, 2015. A monsoon shower hit the city and disrupted daily life. The Indian monsoon, takes place between May and September. (Photo by Piyal Adhikary/EPA)

This photo provided by the North Korean government shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, is surrounded by performers during a celebration marking the nation's 74th anniversary in Pyongyang, North Korea, on September 8, 2022. (Photo by Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP Photo)

A Vietnamese cosplayer poses as police officer character from the game during the League of Legends (LOL) Mid-Season Invitational 2019 play-in group stage, in GG Stadium, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam May 5, 2019. (Photo by Reuters/Kham)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, uses a binocular, as Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, left, and chief of Russia's military's General Staff Valery Gerasimov, right, observe military exercises near the Baikal Lake on Wednesday, July 17, 2013. (Photo by Alexei Nikolsky/AP Photo/RIA Novosti/Presidential Press Service)

A fishing boat that was ran aground by the sea while moored in the port of Coquimbo, some 445 km north of Santiago, during the eve's earthquake on September 17, 2015. A million people were evacuated in Chile after an 8.3-magnitude quake struck offshore in the Pacific, killing at least 10 people and triggering tsunami waves along its northern coast. (Photo by Martin Bernetti/AFP Photo)