Nunavut Layover

NASA’s DC-8 and more than 35 scientists, flight and ground crew stopped in the city of Iqaluit, Nunavut territory, in northeastern Canada during the ARCTAS mission. Credit: NASA/Frank Cutler

In 1999, Iqaluit was designated the capital of Nunavut after the division of the Northwest Territories into two separate territories. Therefore Before this event, Iqaluit was a small city and not well known outside the Canadian Arctic or Canada. Although with population and economic growth highly limited. Also This is due to the city’s isolation and heavy dependence on expensively imported supplies, as the city, like the rest of Nunavut, has no road, rail, or even ship connections for part of the year to the rest of Canada. The city has a polar climate, influenced by the cold deep waters of the Labrador Current just off Baffin Island; this makes the city of Iqaluit cold, although the city is well south of the Arctic Circle.