SpaceX wraps up another milestone in commercial human spaceflight with the safe return of Fram2. This mission took four passengers on an unprecedented orbit around Earth, allowing them to fly directly over both the North and South poles for the first time.
Financed by cryptocurrency mogul Chun Wang, the Fram2 crew has been navigating space freely since Monday. They successfully splashed down at 9:19 a.m. PT, off the coast of California, marking SpaceX’s first West Coast landing in its history of human spaceflights over the past five years. The company live-streamed the capsule’s recovery on their website.
Throughout the journey, the Fram2 crew conducted various research projects, including capturing images of auroras and documenting their experiences with motion sickness. According to Wang’s social media posts, motion sickness was a significant challenge for all crew members, causing nausea and vomiting in the initial hours of microgravity.
Wang shared that on the second day, he felt rejuvenated, despite the rocky start. The crew documented their voyage through images and videos taken from the capsule’s bulbous window, providing awe-inspiring views of Antarctica devoid of human activity.
Accompanying Wang were film director Jannicke Mikkelsen from Norway, robotics researcher Rabea Rogge from Germany, and Australian explorer Eric Philips – all with connections to polar exploration. Together, they embarked on an unconventional journey, distinct from traditional NASA astronaut missions, becoming certified astronauts for this unique voyage.
Fram2, privately funded, allowed SpaceX’s customers to conduct a range of experiments in orbit, emphasizing crew health assessment. Following their splashdown return, the crew performed an egress experiment to test their ability to exit the spacecraft independently.
This mission signifies a step forward in commercial space travel, offering customers the opportunity to experience space exploration in their unique way.
At one point during the Fram2 splashdown, passengers were seen testing their ability to get out of their seats independently, removing footrests, and reaching down to retrieve their survival gear, which weighed approximately 35 pounds. Marissa Rosenberg, a senior medical research engineer at SpaceX, provided commentary on these actions during a webcast of the event.
This egress experiment was just one of the unique aspects of the splashdown. Another notable first was the landing location itself: it marked the first time a crewed SpaceX mission had returned from space and splashed down off the coast of California. Previous crewed missions by the company had returned near Florida.
For safety reasons, SpaceX had decided to shift its recovery operations to the West Coast. The Dragon capsule had to release a cylindrical attachment known as the trunk as it re-entered the atmosphere. Choosing California as the return destination ensured the safe disposal of this hardware into the ocean, avoiding potential risks associated with disposal over land.
The Fram2 crew experienced a series of first-time events during their mission. One significant achievement was the crew’s unique vantage point over Earth’s poles, a perspective never before observed by human eyes during a crewed mission. While satellites routinely orbit Earth’s poles, this specific view was a new experience for the Fram2 crew.
Unlike previous missions that flew at inclinations of around 65 degrees, Fram2 aimed for a 90-degree orientation, allowing them to fly perpendicular to the equator. This trajectory enabled the crew to observe Svalbard, a group of Norwegian islands near the North Pole, where they had originally met. The crew’s polar orbit view was considered a distinctive element of the mission, highlighting the novelty and uniqueness of their perspective.
In addition to the orbital trajectory, the Fram2 crew also engaged in research activities onboard the spacecraft. This included experiments conducted by Mikkelsen and Rogge using urine testing strips to measure hormone levels, providing valuable insights into how women are impacted by spaceflight. The crew members also wore wellness-tracking Oura Rings to monitor their sleep patterns, contributing to the understanding of optimal human functioning in the confined space environment of a spacecraft.
Overall, the Fram2 mission was not only about the orbital trajectory but also about conducting innovative research and experiencing unique perspectives from space, setting it apart as a distinctive and exciting private mission.
The crewmates inside the capsule floated weightlessly as they experimented with growing mushrooms in space and allowed their brains to be mapped for scientific research. Pictured from left to right are Eric Philips, Rabea Rogge, Jannicke Mikkelsen, and Chun Wang inside the Dragon capsule during its splashdown on April 4, as shown in a video screenshot from SpaceX.
Dr. Eric Donovan, an expert on auroras from the University of Calgary’s department of physics and astronomy, expressed his excitement about the opportunity to see new images of aurora-like light displays from space. He is renowned for his expertise on Steve, a unique light phenomenon that has recently garnered attention and is occasionally visible in the northern latitudes during auroras.
Capturing photographs of auroras and other polar light shows from space has been limited, as astronauts aboard the International Space Station usually only have spare moments to try. Donovan pointed out the freedom that self-funded space missions provide, allowing for more diverse scientific endeavors.
