Medical doctors Nina Purvis (left) and Sarah Gaier (right) meet at Italy's Mario Zuchelli station on the Antarctic coast. One is ending her mission; the other is about to begin.

Nina has just completed 13 months at Concordia station as ESA’s sponsored medical doctor for the 2025 winterover, taking over from Jessica Studer in 2024. Since the French-Italian station opened in 2005, ESA medical doctors have carried out vital biomedical research in this isolated, cold and extreme environment to better understand human adaptation and support future missions to the Moon and Mars. Now, Sarah steps in to take on this challenge.

The two doctors briefly crossed paths at Mario Zuchelli, located in Terra Nova Bay (74.24°S, 164.03°E) at just 15 m above sea level. From here, the only way inland is by air. After waiting for an ideal weather window, the journey to Concordia – 1200 km into Antarctica – takes about four hours, climbing to an altitude of 3233 m to the Dome C plateau (75.05°S, 123.19°E) and landing on Concordia’s runway: a cleared strip of snow.

Life at Concordia is extreme: temperatures plunge to -80°C, the air is very thin and dry, the crew is isolated and for four months the Sun never rises. Every year, a group of around 13 brave these conditions to conduct research that could not be done anywhere else on Earth.

Sarah, now safely arrived at Concordia station, joins this group. Stay tuned to follow her journey on our blog, Chronicles from Concordia.