NASA simulates fly through of ginormous crack in Antarctic glacier, takes you for virtual ride

By Jason Hidalgo posted Feb 19th 2012 4:41AM Swooping through the trenches of the Death Star likely ranks high on every geek's bucket list, but thanks to the global financial crisis, we likely won't be seeing Dubai's Death Star any time soon. Fortunately, the folks at NASA have rigged up a passable alternative -- flying through a massive 19-mile crack across Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier. The crack was discovered last October and measures 60 yards wide and 50 yards deep, certainly more than enough clearance to accommodate adventurous fliers. Using data gathered by NASA's Operation IceBridge science flight team, the agency generated an animated fly through that, well, mostly flew over the crack -- but we're sure that was a defensive maneuver. After all, you just never know when a TIE fighter flown by someone's father might sneak up from behind. See the icy flyover yourself after the break.

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