Official name of the day: "Bureaucracy day." Today was a intensive but interesting day for the crew in various senses. The long-awaited spare time slot in the morning, needed after a very nice Yuris night celebration, turned into a mission feedback and discussion session upon requests from MDRS and our MCC who both requested alternated procedures on reporting and had some more questions concerning the scientific output so far. Needless to say that pure science is done after the mission; during the mission, the main goal is data collection, sample procurement, pre-science activities and extensive procedures testing. During the last days, the crew of AustroMars has also spent many hours to bring the station into perfect conditions (power, extensive - Hab cleaning, ATVs, working on suit improvements, installing of airlock light, etc.) for new crews to come.

With such an extensive workload, and in the middle of a truly ambitioned science, engineering and outreach mission, yesterdays message of the main power generator finally functioning properly was received with relief. Today, just 24 hours after the first ever performed comparative and quantitative forward-backward contamination experiment at MDRS, the crew undertook the first emergency rescue EVA of the mission. In the vicinity of the hab, an accident was simulated with one astronaut breaking his right ankle. Both the rescue ops as well as the post-rescue ops were performed and also filmed to allow for post-EVA evaluation. A plaster was applied by the mission medical experts, HSO and MSL. Having had the honour of being the patient, I am still sitting with a 60cm plaster on my right leg.

This morning we had two internet videoconference sessions using switch-X. Those 5min slots are recorded by the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation and aired on the ORF Alpha science website, bringing the work and life at MDRS, but most important of all the rationale behind analogue Mars missions, to the general public. These videos receive extraordinary publicity (as the entire mission), and we are glad that, beside dry science, AustroMars can convey the importance and usefulness of the programme to outsiders. Information and fascination are as important as rocket fuel in order to persue the exploration of space.

As this evening is filled with nine different reports to be handed in to various receivers, we have to delay some of the planned lab activities to tomorrow.