Polar orbit adventure: Private astronauts to explore Earth's extremes
This mission will be exceptional because, for the first time in history, humans will observe both poles of Earth from orbit. Four commercial astronauts will embark on a private mission to space, spending several days there to conduct important scientific research.
"It seems that today a mission will launch like no other before. People have never flown over Earth's poles in space, but that is about to change," announces Karol Wojcicki, a science popularizer from the "With a Head in the Stars" channel. The launch is tentatively scheduled for April 1 at 9:46 PM ET. The success of this flight will open a new chapter in the history of private manned flights to Earth's orbit.
Mission Fram2 is a journey into the unknown
The first manned orbital mission over the poles of our planet will be exceptional in several respects. Karol Wójcicki points out that so far no spacecraft with people on board has traveled in an orbit with a 90-degree inclination, allowing it to fly over the North and South Poles of Earth.
"The record previously belonged to the Soviet Vostok 6 from 1963 (about 65 degrees). Even the ISS, which we so eagerly observe in the sky, orbits at only a 51-degree inclination. The Fram2 mission is truly a journey into the unknown," writes Wojcicki on Facebook.
Onboard: Entrepreneur, director, robotics engineer, and traveler
The name of the mission refers to the Norwegian ship Fram, which participated in expeditions to both poles of Earth. Who is taking part? The entire flight is sponsored by a Maltese entrepreneur of Chinese origin, Chun Wang, who also serves as the mission commander.
Joining him in the Dragon Resilience capsule are: Jannicke Mikkelsen, a director and cinematographer; German robotics engineer Rabea Rogge, who will act as the pilot; and Australian traveler Eric Philips. Notably, the spacecraft carrying the astronauts is equipped with a special observation dome, similar to the one used on the private mission Inspiration4.
They will likely spend 5 days in space
You can never have too much electronics in space, so, as SpaceX reported, the crew will include: three professional cameras, four iPad mini tablets, two iPhone Pro Max smartphones, three laptops, an amateur radio, and an x-ray generator to obtain the first-ever x-ray image of the human body in space.
During their stay in polar orbit, lasting 3 to 5 days, the private astronauts will carry out a total of 22 research projects and observe atmospheric phenomena such as STEVE, which are bright, long arcs appearing in the night sky, often accompanying the aurora borealis.
Most of the scientific research will focus on the behavior of the human body in space, including aspects such as maintaining muscle and skeletal mass, monitoring sleep quality, stress levels, and motion sickness experienced by astronauts during the mission. Studies will also be conducted on brain anatomy, glucose levels, and blood health.
From pole to pole in less than an hour
Additionally, as part of the MushVroom experiment, oyster mushrooms will be grown for the first time in history, which could become a meal for astronauts during long space missions. Interestingly, after completing the expedition, the crew plans to exit the Dragon capsule independently, without the help of SpaceX employees, to test the astronauts' abilities immediately after returning from orbit.
Until now, only the crews of the Apollo lunar missions have seen the poles, but from a great distance. The crew of the Fram 2 mission will observe these areas from an altitude of approximately 267 miles above Earth's surface and will be able to fly from the North Pole over the South Pole in less than an hour.
Launch of the Fram 2 mission
According to the latest information, SpaceX has planned the launch of the Fram2 mission for April 1 at 9:46 PM Eastern Time. The mission will launch from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral (USA) from platform LC-39A.
