Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, USA

I sent this down there last October. Not much extra going on. Just the postmarks. I'm not really surprised. The US post offices in the Antarctic don't normally put a lot of additional handstamps and markings on outgoing mail. It's all business at the USPS. But at least the postmarks clearly say it came from the South Pole. 

The US post offices in the Antarctic at McMurdo and Amundsen-Scott are operated as APOs : Army Post Offices. The US Air Force has been running a continuous mission to support the National Science Foundation and their actives in the Antarctic which includes delivering the mail. 

Christmas Island, Nova Scotia

I send a few letters to this tiny post office in Nova Scotia every year and I usually include an extra to have sent back to me. The postmark design changes every few years. They are always well applied and available in green or red ink.

Loriot FDC, Germany

Stamps from Germany commemorating the 100th birth anniversary of comedian, writer and cartoonist Bernhard-Viktor Christoph-Carl von Bülow who published under the pseudonym Loriot. On this cover are both gummed and self-adhesive versions of the stamp with first-day postmarks for each.

Scott Base, Ross Dependency

Mail from New Zealand's Scott Base always comes back to me fairly quickly. The US Air Force operates flights between Christchurch and McMurdo Station to support US activities in the Antarctic. And Scott Base is only a few kms away by ice road from McMurdo.

The Ross Dependency stamps from left to right are a 2023 stamp commemorating the planned refurbishment of Scott Base, a 2012 definitive showing Mount Erebus: the southern most active volcano, and finally a 2022 stamp commemorating scientific research involving sea ice. I believe this stamp shows sheets of coloured plastic on the ice used to study they way micro-organisms in the ice survive under different lighting conditions.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Puerto Rico

October was breast cancer awareness month. This cover was postmarked in San Juan, Puerto Rico, at the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is a US territory in the Caribbean Sea.

Casey Station, Australian Antarctic Territory

Australia's Casey Station is one of the three permanent Antarctic research stations managed by the Australian Antarctic Division. It is reachable by air which is why the station is a hub for Australian activities in the Antarctic. And it is also why this cover came back to me so quickly. Quickly as in the same year that I sent it. 

OSIRIS-REx sample return FDC, USA

First-Day covers I made for the US OSIRIS-REx stamp that commemorated the successful return of an asteroid sample from space. NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was launched in September 2016. It took two years to reach the half km wide Asteroid 101955 Bennu. Then spent two years orbiting and studying the asteroid. After a quick touchdown to collect a sample, it left Bennu for a 7 month trip back to Earth.

As OSIRIS-Rex flew by the Earth it released it's 80x50 cm return capsule which landed in the Utah desert at 8:52AM MDT on 24 September 2023 carrying a 70g sample of asteroid rock and dust.

Another Year or the Dragon FDC from Japan

This time it's the Yokohama first-day postmark (横浜 in the text at the bottom of the postmark). The stamps are added value lottery stamps. 

Year of the Dragon FDC, Japan.

From Osaka. The Year of the Dragon starts on February 10th, 2024 and ends on January 28th, 2025. The stamps were designed by stamp artist Ayumi Yoshikawa. On the right is a toy dragon woodblock print by Japanese artist Kawasaki Kyosen. And on the left is an added value lottery stamp.

100th Anniversary of the First Planetarium Projector, FDC

The stamp commemorates 100 years since the worlds first planetarium projector was introduced. The first official public event was at the Deutsches Museum in Munich on October 21, 1923. My flatbed scanner could not capture the metallic foil finish on the stamp. But it is much more apparent in this image taken with my phone.

Vienna, Austria

A Europa 2023 stamp on the right on this cover from Austria. And seven 10c make-up stamps that feature the Bodensee (Lake Constance) lace bonnet.

Finland in NATO and Finnair

On the left is a stamp from celebrating Finland's NATO membership. The stamp was issued on September 9th which was the 350th anniversary of Finnish postal service Posti. And on the right is a stamp commemorating the 100th anniversary of Finnish airline Finnair on November 1st.