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.

Female police officers from Istanbul's Motorcycled Police Unit wait to search vehicles during a roadside checkpoint operation on March 7, 2017 in Istanbul, Turkey. The rapid response unit nicknamed Dolphins is used primarily in crime prevention operations and has 25 female officers. 6% of Turkey's 250,000 strong police force are women, March 8 marks International Women's Day. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Valentyna Konstantynovska, 79 years-old, holds a weapon during basic combat training for civilians, organized by the Special Forces Unit Azov, of Ukraine's National Guard, in Mariupol, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Sunday, February 13, 2022. The United States is evacuating almost all of the staff from its embassy in Kyiv as Western intelligence officials warn that a Russian invasion of Ukraine is increasingly imminent. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)

A model poses at the Hashe presentation during Fashion Forward Spring/Summer 2017 at the Dubai Design District on October 21, 2016 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Cedric Ribeiro/Getty Images)

A man walks next to a section of the wall separating Mexico and the United States, on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, November 12, 2016. (Photo by Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters)

Ethnic Wa performer dressed as United Wa State Army (UWSA) soldiers perform a traditional dance in Mongmao, Wa territory in northeast Myanmar October 1, 2016. (Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)

Heavy machinery is used as Encinitas lifeguards work to remove the carcass of a large humpback whale that washed ashore in Leucadia, California, United States, July 18, 2016. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)

Melania Trump during Melania Trump Unveils The 2007 Cadillac Escalade to The Fashion World at Milk Studios in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/WireImage)