July 20, 2012 | 2 The French–Italian Concordia research station
in Antarctica is not your typical location for a medical
practice, but working there has its perks. Physician Alexander
Kumar and Erick Bondoux, two residents passing austral winter at
Concordia, snapped this photo of the dramatic aurorae over the
station on July 18. The outpost is so isolated that no one can
come or go for months during the winter, during which time the
13 people there experience complete darkness for more than 100
consecutive days. Add to that an elevation of roughly 3,200
meters, and the conditions at Concordia station are, in a word,
harsh. Enter Kumar, who, as a human spaceflight research M.D.
for the European Space Agency, is charged with investigating
"how far human physiology and psychology can be pushed towards a
future manned mission to Mars," according to his Web site. In
the meantime he and his crew members do get to enjoy the almost
otherworldly aurora australis, or southern lights. Aurorae over
Earth's poles are the