A FORMER Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School pupil is currently experiencing permanent night and temperatures dipping below -100C.

Doctor Beth Healey is carrying out research at the Antarctic research station Concordia with the European Space Agency.

She is six months into a year-long stretch at the station, which is a French-Italian permanent research facility, enabling scientists to experience and examine conditions similar those experience in space. She and the team haven't seen daylight for over 50 days.

Concordia is one of only 3 inland stations and is situated at 3,233m altitude on the Dome Charlie plateau, 1300km from the coast, in the largest desert in the world - dubbed 'White Mars'.

During the winter period - right now - the international crew of 13 live at temperatures regularly sub -80C, are without sun for 100 days and live in a constant state of hypoxia, breathless with minimal exertion. With temperatures so low planes are unable to fly during the winter period leaving the crew in complete isolation for 9 months.

As well as taking part in environmental experiments, Miss Healey is carrying out research for the ESA, examining the effect such conditions have on the human body, as part of the agency's Human Spaceflight research program.

Her work includes protocols on behalf of NASA, looking at the physiological and psychological impact of long term isolation and extreme environments to further our understanding of the difficulties experienced by astronauts in long duration space flight (including future Mars missions).

Last week current pupils took part in a live link with the station and got to ask Miss Healey questions for 45 minutes.

Her mother Pauline Healey is an assistant head teacher at the school and her father Mike is a science teacher there - they arranged, and took part in the video link, which was screened in the sports hall and gave students the chance to ask questions and to look at some of the kit the team uses and the environment they live in.

"It was wonderful for the pupils, they got to talk to Beth directly and ask a lot of questions," said Mrs Healey.

You can follow her adventure and see lots of amazing pictures on Twitter and at the Concordia blog