Fram2/SpaceX crew (Photo: X)
Cape Canaveral: SpaceX is set to launch its first human spaceflight directly over Earth's polar regions on Monday, marking the start of a pioneering, privately funded orbital mission involving four astronauts.
Named "Fram2," after the famous Norwegian ship built in the 19th century for Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, the mission will include a variety of groundbreaking experiments. These will include taking the first-ever X-ray in space and experimenting with growing mushrooms in microgravity.
The aim of the mission is to gather valuable research to support future long-duration space travel, particularly missions to Mars.
The crew will launch aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket, with a launch window opening at 9:46 PM (0146 GMT) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
Mission commander Chun Wang, a Maltese adventurer and co-founder of the cryptocurrency companies f2pool and Skatefish, said, “With the same pioneering spirit as early polar explorers, we aim to bring back new data and knowledge to advance the long-term goals of space exploration.”
Wang selected the rest of the crew: vehicle commander Jannicke Mikkelsen, a Norwegian film director; mission pilot Rabea Rogge, a German robotics researcher; and mission specialist and medical officer Eric Philps, an Australian polar explorer.
The crew has undergone eight months of intensive training for the approximately four-day mission, including a wilderness expedition in Alaska designed to simulate life in confined spaces under extreme conditions.
Upon their return to Earth, the crew will attempt to exit the spacecraft without additional medical assistance. This will be part of a study to help scientists understand how astronauts can perform basic tasks after spaceflight.
Aside from the Apollo lunar missions, which flew over the poles, Earth’s polar regions have been largely out of view for astronauts, including those aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Even the Apollo missions did not fly directly over the poles.
To date, SpaceX has conducted five private astronaut missions, including three in collaboration with Axiom Space to the ISS and two free-flying missions in Earth orbit. The first of these, Inspiration4, launched in 2021, followed by Polaris Dawn, which featured the first-ever spacewalk conducted by private astronauts.
Both free-flying missions were chartered by e-payments billionaire Jared Isaacman, a close associate of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who has also been nominated by President Donald Trump as the next NASA administrator.
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