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 wax figure of U.S. actress Scarlett Johansson stands outside Madame Tussauds New York attraction shortly after the figure was unveiled in Times Square in New York, July 30, 2015. (Photo by Mike Segar/Reuters)

In an observance of Epiphany, Russian Orthodox believers swim in an icy pond outside Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. (Photo by Olga “Zwezdochka”)

Maria, 18, wearing a traditional Sevillana outfit, poses for a portrait during the traditional Feria de Abril (April fair) in the Andalusian capital of Seville April 16, 2013. (Photo by Marcelo del Pozo/Reuters)

The Euro sculpture is partially reflected in a puddle on a cobblestone pavement in front of the headquarters of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt on Jan. 21. (Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)

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Pupils participate in a calligraphy contest to celebrate the New Year in Tokyo January 5, 2016. Over 3,000 calligraphers who qualified in competitions throughout Japan wrote resolutions or wishes onto paper sheets during the annual contest that marks the start of the new year, according to organizers. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)