The base sits on the Brunt Ice Shelf, and is the sixth such UK facility to be erected at this location since 1957. Together with Rothera on the Antarctic Peninsula, it will spearhead UK science on the White Continent.
Halley gathers important weather and climate data, and it played a critical role in the research that identified the ozone "hole" in 1985. In recent years, Halley has also become a major centre for studying solar activity and the impacts it can have on Earth.
This is most evident in the beautiful auroras that form over the base – the consequence of particles from the Sun crashing into air molecules high in the atmosphere.
Halley VI’s researchers now have a state-of-the-art complex from which to monitor these phenomena. Perhaps the most striking thing about the new station is its appearance.
"It looks like something in space," says architect Hugh Broughton. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) station comprises eight modules in all. The seven blue ones are work and habitation units. The central red module, which is on two storeys, is the social hub where residents can gather to relax. It contains the dining room, the bar and even a gym.