Chocolate, coffee and pad Thai noodles are among home comforts air-dropped to Australian Antarctic expeditioners as part of a 14-tonne winter re-supply mission.
The Australian Defence Force recently completed the 10,000km round trip to deliver priority cargo, including scientific equipment, to Mawson research station.
The effort came after bad weather and a malfunctioning crane meant the nation's $528 million icebreaker Nuyina couldn't offload all of its cargo in March.
A RAAF C-17A Globemaster was loaded up in Hobart and headed to Western Australia before flying south.
It was refuelled mid-air by a tanker over the Southern Ocean to make the journey.
About 30 parachutes with pallets full of equipment were dropped from the sky near the station.
"It looks easy as it comes out of the sky, but there's four to six weeks of planning involved," head of the Australian Antarctic Division operations logistics branch, Dani Yannopoulos, said.
"You're threading the eye of a needle when it comes to the weather, making sure that you have the right wind conditions, with the right light and the right timing."
The drop also included maintenance equipment and spare parts.
"There were also some comforts from home, including chocolate, coffee, some pad Thai noodles and a few things for our expeditioners to do during the dark winter months," Ms Yannopoulos said.
It hasn't been smooth sailing for Australian resupply missions to the frozen continent in recent years.
The Nuyina has spent time out of action with various mechanical problems, while in 2021 a ship chartered to replace it caught fire in the Southern Ocean.
Ms Yannopoulos, who has spent a winter in Antarctica, said there were contingencies to ensure expeditioners had everything they needed.
"We've got back up food and equipment and stores, and we have incredible people that can make the most of what we have," she said.
