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.

An F/A-18 Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron One Five One (VFA-151) emerges from a cloud created when it broke the sound barrier in the skies over the Pacific Ocean, July 7, 1999. (Photo by John Gay/US Navy)

An Indian street vendor selling bananas naps on his fruit cart at the roadside in New Delhi on June 3, 2015. (Photo by Money Sharma/AFP Photo)

An elderly woman plays an accordion in Moscow, Russia on October 3, 2017. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

A girl carries fire wood collected from flood waters in the flood affected Morigaon district of Assam state, India, 25 July 2016. Over half a million people of 15 districts in Assam state have been affected by the current wave of floods. According to the media reports more than 70 relief camps have been set up in the affected districts to provide shelter to the flood affected people. (Photo by EPA/Stringer)

A child dressed as Radha, the consort of Hindu god Krishna, participates in celebrations to mark Janmashtami festival in Kolkata, India, Friday, August 19, 2022. Janmashtami celebrates the birth of Hindu god Krishna. (Photo by Bikas Das/AP Photo)

People cross waterlogged railway tracks next to a parked passenger train during heavy rains in Mumbai, India, June 9, 2021. (Photo by Hemanshi Kamani/Reuters)

Filipa Martins of Portugal fails to grab the bar as she performs the uneven bars during the Women's All-Around Final at the 50th FIG Artis​tic Gymnastics World Championships in​ Kitakyushu, Japan, 21 October 2021. (Photo by Kimimasa Mayama/EPA/EFE)