A day like... well, like what? Like an adventure which is about to start, and we are in the middle of it. It started with an earthly problem, when the strong desert storm destroyed a small part of the roof construction of the hab. With three crew members on EVA and one HabCom trying desperately to keep contact during this long-range geology expedition, the remaining two crew members had to climb to the roof during strong winds and fix the problem, a task they mastered perfectly (again, the Austrian Mountain rescue emergency training proved to be very valuable).

And then, the simulated storm came. A solar magnetic storm with the bow shock arriving at Mars at 1600 Sol time. We sealed the windows with water bags, took our sunglasses and flight suits and sat down in the airlocks. Two hours of waiting. And then, don't ask me why, "it" was here. A simple thought first. Then an idea. Now an adventure.

The last days were filled with tests and daily routine to an extent that we almost felt like being on Earth. Which is, of course, wrong: We are on Mars, and we have five days left to finish a mission which shall be remembered by all those who made it happen and put so much effort into it. Sitting in our airlocks which served as radiation protection while the radiation storm passed the Red Planet, we reflected on our wonderful experience so far, and we thought of the many more things to come. The samples still to take, the landscape to explore, the engineering solutions to test, the science to do.

Please excuse that I write shorter than usual. And please excuse the excitment you read between the lines, but we have just switched to exploration mode, like in good old Apollo days. I think this afternoon we have just rediscovered a spirit we have lost between all the routine.

Stand by as AustroMars, the crew and the "glorious men and women" of our Mission Control Center, dive into an adventure.

And most important of all: Stay tuned.

Good Morning Salzburg, Good Night Mars.