Friday / 24 March 2006
 
Credit: IceCube
IceCube South Pole Neutrino Telescope Sees Huge Expansion, But Pace Must Quicken for 2011 Deadline. The cubic-kilometer-sized observatory had 480 optical modules (one pictured) added over the recent Antarctic summer, adding to the 150 or so sensors installed last summer and the 677 taken from the precursor AMANDA mission. The equipment put in the ice last year has functioned for over one year without failures. This year, the crew worked from October through February, whereas last season they didn't begin until January. In a very drawn out and delicate process, eight 60-module strings were lowered into a strategic array of 2.4-km-deep holes in the ice made by a special drilI. In order for all 4,200 modules and 300 sensors to be emplaced by the 2011 deadline, the IceCube team will have to slightly pick up the pace over the coming years. The US$272M project, although over 88% paid for by the US National Science Foundation, includes a consortium of over 30 organizations and participation by Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Japan, New Zealand, and the Netherlands -- making it by far the largest astrophysics mission in Antarctica. The project has received significant support from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. The University of Wisconsin directs the project and runs the IceCube website. Info www.news.wisc.edu.