Aurora is designed as a multi-purpose research vessel, with activities centered on the aft working deck, which is large enough to contain two
TEU containers. The containers can contain technical equipment; for example a seismic air gun array or a specialized laboratory in addition to the laboratory on board. Alternatively a trawl
winch can be mounted on the deck. Trawl and heavy equipment such as
pistoncore samplers can be deployed and recovered by means of the
gantry. In addition to the open working deck a sheltered deck with doors to the starboard side allows deployment and recovery of water samplers and
CTDs. Propulsion is delivered by two propellers, each driven by a 368 kW
Scania DI13 diesel engine and equipped with a 150 kW
bow thruster, which can be used for
dynamic positioning. Top speed is . The ship contains three
decks. The main deck contains
galley and stores in the stern, followed by combined
mess, lounge and meeting room and a dry laboratory. Adjacent to the dry lab is the sheltered wet lab, which continues into the open aft deck. Below the main deck is the engine room aft and cabins for the crew (two single rooms for
captain and
chief mate, two double rooms for deck crew and cook) and scientific crew and students (two double rooms and one four-bunk room). Above the main deck is the bridge deck, separated into the
bridge itself, sitting on top of a semi-deck containing ship electronics, and a lower part facing the aft deck and used for computers and other equipment during collection of data from
multibeam sonar,
seismic streamers and other towed equipment. On top of the bridge is a platform designed for visual surveys for birds and marine mammals. The ship is designed for day cruises with a crew of two. For longer cruises the crew is four plus a cook. Endurance is 10 days at sea and the service area is the
Baltic Sea and the
North Sea east of 3° East and south of 62° Nord. == References ==