At the EGU General Assembly in Vienna several members of the EuroMoonMars community had the chance to meet both in person in Vienna, together with 7315 on-site attendees, and online, thanks to the hybrid format of this year. Four sessions were co-sponsored by EMM/ILEWG on 25-27 May: Analogue research, open session on Planetary instrumentation, Lunar Science and Exploration, open session on Earth Atmosphere, land and ocean.
During the "Analogue Planetary Research and Instruments" session - with chairpersons Bernard Foing, Marc Heemskerk and Agata Kolodziejczyk - talks focussed on EuroMoonMars analogue missions, such as EMMPOL, CHILL-ICE, and EMM Etna. Furthermore, presentations on Space design and psychology in high demanding environments were given during this session. One topic that was addressed in the abstract presented by Serena Crotti - previously an analogue astronaut at the Analog Astronaut Training Centre facility in the context of the EMMPOL 8 mission - was the need to increase the well-being of astronauts within space habitats under conditions of prolonged confinement. In the "Open session on planetary and space instrumentation" Anouk Ehreiser presented the first results of the study of microbial communities using Raman Spectroscopy during the high-altitude campaign to the Ojos del Salado area in Chile, which took place in February and March 2022. Four participants of the Chile campaign could also reunite during the General Assembly in Vienna.
The assembly was a unique occasion to show the public the scientific results of the various activities of several collaborators of our community and we are pleased that it could finally be organised in presence! However, this year's hybrid format allowed those contributors who were unable to physically participate to present their work in the form of short live presentations or pre-recorded videos. Presenters also had the opportunity to provide additional material to their talks to make it available to the scientific community. A valuable archive and a truly precious forum for the exchange of knowledge. Furthermore, the role of the EGU is to bring researchers together: an incredible place to network with Space experts from all over the world.