Carefully, with her draught of more than 10 metres, Polarstern approaches the quay in order to deliver a thick flexible fuel hose to the shore. Through this hose, aeroplane fuel that is specially adapted to the cold temperatures will get pumped over to the stations fuel depots. It will be needed by German and British polar research aeroplanes that use Rothera station as a stopover when heading towards the interior of the continent.
Meanwhile, the geophysicists of Polarstern carry out gravimetric investgations close to the station. This is a method to find out about temporal and spacial changes of the earth's gravitational force, which give clues about rock materials under the surface.