Florida: Elon Musk's SpaceX launched the "Fram2 mission", the first human spaceflight over Earth's North and South poles, on Monday at 9:46 pm ET. Falcon 9 launched Fram2 to a polar orbit from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will carry four astronauts on an orbital journey.
The crew of the "Fram2 mission" is Mission Commander Chun Wang, Vehicle Commander Jannicke Mikkelsen, Vehicle Pilot Rabea Rogge, and Mission Specialist and Medical Officer Eric Philips.
"During their multi-day mission, Dragon and the crew will explore Earth from a polar orbit and fly over Earth’s polar regions for the first time. They will also conduct 22 research designed to help advance humanity’s capabilities for long-duration space exploration and understanding of human health in space," SpaceX said in a statement.
Video Of The Launch:
The crew will take the first x-ray in space. "Throughout Fram2’s time on-orbit, the crew are planning to take the first x-ray in space, perform exercise studies to maintain muscle and skeletal mass, and grow mushrooms in microgravity," SpaceX stated.
Notably, after safely returning to Earth, the crew is planning to exit from the Dragon spacecraft without additional medical and operational assistance. It will help researchers to characterise the ability of astronauts to perform unassisted functional tasks after short and long durations in space.
All About the 4 Private Astronauts Of The Mission:
4 Private Astronauts Of The Mission | SpaceX
Chun Wang: He is a Chinese-born Maltese cryptocurrency investor and entrepreneur. In August last year, SpaceX announced that Wang would be funding and commanding the Fram2 mission of a Crew Dragon spacecraft.
Jannicke Mikkelsen: Mikkelsen is a Norwegian cinematographer and film director who has worked in the field of virtual reality (VR) cinematography, 3D animation and augmented reality technology. She is Norway's first space traveller. Earlier Mikkelsen flew over the poles at lower altitudes during a 2019 Gulfstream jet mission.
Rabea Rogge: She is an electrical engineer, robotic researcher, polar scientist and private astronaut. She is reportedly pursuing her doctorate in automated vehicle navigation in harsh conditions at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. She becomes Germany's first female orbital astronaut.
Eric Philips: he is an Australian polar explorer, adventurer, polar guide and private astronaut. He has experience conducting around 30 expeditions to Earth's polar regions since 1992, according to his website.
