Constellation Inlet is an ice-filled inlet, 30 mile long and 10 miles (16.1 km) wide, between the Dott Ice Rise

Dott Ice Rise

Dott Ice Rise is a peninsula-like feature that is ice-drowned except for the Barrett Nunataks, about 20 nautical miles long, extending eastward from the Heritage Range of the Ellsworth Mountains and terminating at Constellation Inlet at the southwest edge of Ronne Ice Shelf. Mapped by United...

 and the Skytrain Ice Rise

Skytrain Ice Rise

Skytrain Ice Rise is a large, flattish, peninsula-like ice rise of about 50 miles extent, extending from the vicinity of Meyer Hills in the Heritage Range eastward into the Ronne Ice Shelf...

 at the southwest margin of the Ronne Ice Shelf. It was mapped by the United States Geological Survey

United States Geological Survey

The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...

 from surveys and from U.S. Navy air photos, 1961–66, and named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names

Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names

The Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names is an advisory committee of the United States Board on Geographic Names responsible for recommending names for features in Antarctica...

 for the Lockheed Super Constellation aircraft, C-121J. Equipped only with wheeled tricycle landing gear, it was for many years the principal carrier of personnel from the U.S. to New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 and thence to the ice runway near McMurdo Station

McMurdo Station

McMurdo Station is a U.S. Antarctic research center located on the southern tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program, a branch of the National...

. In addition to its role of hauling men and supplies, the "Connie" flew many hours of aerial photography over Antarctica.