After 15 years of operation, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station has completed its first major upgrade. This expansion is expected to significantly enhance the observatory’s ability to detect neutrinos, which are nearly massless particles that can pass through matter undisturbed and provide insights into distant astrophysical sources.
The University of Utah’s Department of Physics & Astronomy has played a significant role in the project since its inception. Postdoctoral researcher Vedant Basu was present during a recent visit by U.S. Senator John Curtis to mark the completion of the upgrade. Basu was part of an international team that drilled six holes, each about a mile and a half deep, into Antarctic ice for new sensors. The process used a 5-megawatt hot-water drill system and took three days per hole, operating continuously.
The newly installed sensors are three times more sensitive than previous ones, allowing for improved detection capabilities. The clarity of Antarctic ice makes it possible to capture faint flashes produced when neutrinos interact beneath the surface.
According to Basu, “The IceCube upgrade is an exciting opportunity to study fundamental neutrino interactions, while also providing us with a new window into the characteristics of our detector. We’ve also been able to deploy and test a variety of new sensors which greatly benefits the development of sensors for the IceCube-Gen2 effort.”
Carsten Rott, chair of Utah’s physics department, contributed by securing a camera system from Korea designed to improve understanding of cosmic ray composition and measurement of neutrinos from galactic supernovae. Rott said, “My group designed and built a novel camera-based calibration system, which consists of over 2,000 cameras and LED light sources. It will be used to better understand the properties of the Antarctic ice that is used as a detector medium for the neutrinos. It might uncover new phenomena, which have so far been hidden in the data.”
Dennis Soldin, another physicist at Utah and IceCube’s new analysis coordinator, now oversees all physics analysis at IceCube Neutrino experiment—including work on data from newly deployed devices as part of this multi-year upgrade. Soldin stated: “Using the enhanced devices deployed in the ice,” said Soldin, “scientists will be able to better characterize the surrounding ice, leading to improved reconstruction of neutrinos and a [retroactive] reanalysis of 15 years of archived data.”
In addition to scientific advancements, Utah researchers are developing solar panels—tested on local salt flats—to replace kerosene-powered equipment at IceCube facilities in Antarctica.
Results from this project will be incorporated into The IceCube Masterclass event scheduled at Utah on April 25, 2026. High school students and teachers will participate in hands-on activities using real cosmic-ray data and communicate directly with scientists stationed at South Pole.
Commissioning efforts will continue following this major installation phase as teams verify functionality across all upgraded components. This latest development serves as groundwork for proposed future expansions such as IceCube-Gen2—a facility planned at eight times current instrumented volume—which would maintain leadership in neutrino astronomy.
Marion Dierickx, NSF program director for IceCube commented: “The successful deployment of the IceCube upgrade project is a feat of U.S. engineering that demonstrates significant logistical capabilities in Antarctica,” said Marion Dierickx. “This upgrade will secure the nation’s continued leadership in neutrino physics for years to come, paving the way for new cosmic discoveries.”
