This photo includes FRAM2/SPACEX show, left to right show, mission specialist Eric Phillips, medical officer, mission commander Chun Wang, Pilot Travel Lodge and vehicle commander Janik Mikkelsen.
SpaceX is set to launch the Earth’s polar regions directly on Monday, a multi-day, personally funded orbital mission involving four astronauts.
Named “FRAM2” after the famous Norwegian ship built for the Arctic and Antarctic expedition in the 19th century, the mission involves a variety of experiments, including taking the first X-rays in space and growing mushrooms using microgravity.
It is hoped that this research will support future long-term space travel to Mars.
The crew will be released in a Falcon 9 rocket SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule with a window open at 9:46pm (0146 GMT) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“With the same pioneering spirit as early polar explorers, we aim to reclaim new data and knowledge to advance our long-term goals of space exploration,” said mission commander Chun Wang.
Wang, a Maltese adventurer and co-founder of Crypto Companies F2Pool and SkateFish, chose the rest of the crew. Mission Pilot Travel Lodge, a German robot researcher. Eric Philps, an Australian polar explorer and mission specialist and medical officer.
The team trained for eight months in preparation for the approximately four-day trip. This included wilderness expeditions in Alaska to simulate living in a near quarter under harsh conditions.
Back on Earth, the crew attempts to leave the spacecraft without additional medical assistance. Part of the research will help researchers understand that astronauts can perform basic tasks after SpaceFlight.
Except for Apollo’s lunar mission, Earth’s polar regions remain vision of astronauts, including astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS). Even Apollo, they did not fly directly across the Earth’s poles.
SpaceX has conducted five private astronaut missions so far. This is three collaborations with Axiom Space and ISS, and two free flights with Earth Orbit.
The first of these was Inspiration 4 in 2021, followed by Polaris Dawn, featuring the first spacecraft commanded by private astronauts.
Both free fly missions chartered billionaire Jared Isaacman, an intimate associate of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
©2025 AFP
Quote: SpaceX for launching private astronauts on the first crew polar orbit (31 March 2025) obtained from https:/2025-03-03-03-03 SpaceX
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