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 BASE jumper is pictured against the skyline shrouded in a thick haze during the Kuala Lumpur Tower International Jump in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 02 October 2015. More than 100 BASE jumpers take part in this extreme sport event, which enters its 15th year. The haze hovering over Malaysia is caused by the ongoing plantation and forest fires in the nearby Indonesian provinces of Sumatra and Kalimantan. (Photo by Fazry Ismail/EPA)

An unmanned Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket lifts off from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Wednesday, February 11, 2015, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. On board is the Deep Space Climate Observatory, which will head toward a solar-storm lookout point a million miles away. (Photo by John Raoux/AP Photo)

A Chimpanzee opens its Christmas presents at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo on December 17, 2013 in Bedfordshire, England. (Photo by Tony Margiocchi/Barcroft Media)

“Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun (March 23, 1912 – June 16, 1977) was a German-born rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect, and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany during World War II and, subsequently, the United States”. – Wikipedia

Photo: German-born American engineer Dr. Wernher von Braun with a model of the Explorer orbiting space satellite which he designed. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). 1958

Mamoni Mandal, member of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), attends a training session at a police training school in Kolkata April 15, 2007. (Photo by Parth Sanyal/Reuters)

A Christian worshipper reacts as she takes part in the Christian Orthodox Holy Fire ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City, April 30, 2016. (Photo by Amir Cohen/Reuters)

A period of relative stability has put the Iranian capital No1 on the list of world cities that have achieved biggest improvements in liveability over the past five years, as calculated by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The “most improved” top 10 contains some unexpected names. So, eg, the fourth place: Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Latest ranking: 128; Ranking five years ago: 131; Five-year index movement: 3.8%. Here: A supporter of Ivory Coast president Alassane Ouattara campaigns in a market in the city’s Koumassi quarter. (Photo by Sia Kambou/AFP Photo)