SpaceX is gearing up to launch a historic mission next week that will send astronauts flying over the Earth's poles. The firm's Fram2 mission will send a crew of four in a Crew Dragon spacecraft to an orbit that circles the North and South Poles for four days. During their time in orbit, the crew will conduct nearly two dozen experiments in space, including the first x-ray and studies revolving around anemia, women's health and bone loss.
SpaceX Gears Up To Launch Fram2 Mission On Coming Monday
SpaceX's Fram2 mission, now set to launch on Monday, March 31st, will be the first time that astronauts get to fly a dedicated mission around the Earth's poles. The mission is being funded by cryptocurrency tycoon Chun Wang, and it will take a crew of four on a four-day ride around the Earth's poles. Along with Wang, who is the mission's commander, the vehicle will be commanded by film director Jannicke Mikkelsen and flow by pilot Rabea Rogge along with Eric Philips as its medical officer.
The mission is named after the Norwegian polar exploration ship Fram and is fully funded by Wang. The crypto tycoon is known for his novel pursuits, including an aim to visit all 249 countries and territories in the world. It will be Wang and his crew's first spaceflight after they completed training in California last week.
They will fly on SpaceX's Crew Dragon, which will lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida next Monday at 11:39 a.m. at the earliest. The Crew Dragon Resilience, which is the ship that last flew SpaceX's historic Polaris Dawn mission in September, will fly the crew to space. However, unlike on the Polaris Dawn mission, which allowed the crew the capability to exit the ship, Resilience on Fram2 will fly with a panoramic cupola instead.
During the time that they spend in space, the crew will conduct 22 experiments. These include the first x-ray in space in an experiment aptly dubbed 'SpaceXray.' Another experiment will evaluate blood flow restriction to determine whether astronaut bone and muscle mass can be preserved during long-duration space missions. The astronauts will also evaluate growing mushrooms in space in another experiment geared towards potential long-duration missions to Mars.
The Fram2 will also run MRI scans on the crew immediately as they return to Earth in order to determine whether a delayed scan, which is typically the case, affects results. SpaceX will also monitor crew glucose levels during the mission as part of its efforts to "gain confidence in providing high-quality care to diabetic astronauts." Other studies involve bone health, women's health and anemia.
Fram2 will rely on SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet to communicate with Earth during their mission. As part of their training, the crew have been vaccinated against several illnesses. Their final simulation in a Crew Dragon simulator occurred last week as they ran through the ship's deorbit and splashdown operations. SpaceX has installed camera mounts in the cupola, and the crew's training includes opening the forward hatch to gain unprecedented views of the Earth's polar regions.
