Almost half way through our winter season seems an unlikely time to receive a delivery from home. But after months of planning and preparation more than 9 tonnes of cargo has been delivered to Mawson, under parachutes, from a Australian Defence Force C-17A transport aircraft.
A narrow window of suitable weather meant that the airdrop had to occur early in the morning and all cargo had landed before 4am Mawson time. The Mawson team promptly retrieved the parachutes and cargo from the sea ice, with the air temperature around minus 13 degrees Celsius.
Amongst all the equipment, spare parts, medical supplies and food delivered to Mawson the mailbags and fresh fruit were the most welcome items.
The airdrop occurred during a darker part of the day, but daylight here is rapidly getting longer with 7.9 hours of sunshine recorded on our most recent clear sky day.
