WATCH: SpaceX’s Historic Fram2 Mission Captures Breathtaking Glimpse of Earth’s Polar Ice Cap. Know Story Behind Its Name

In another great leap in space exploration, Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully launched the Fram2 Mission, the first-ever human spaceflight to orbit Earth over its polar regions. The mission, named after the legendary Norwegian exploration ship Fram, lifted off from Launch Complex-39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida this morning in a Falcon 9 rocket. Crew Dragon Resilience has now clicked the first breathtaking visuals of Earth’s polar region. The captivating cold desert landscape of the antipodal region of the Earth has fascinated netizens. 

Watch the Liftoff 

What is Fram2 Mission?

Fram2, the first crewed mission to go into a polar orbit, has an inclination of 90 degrees at an altitude of 267 miles, completing each orbit in about 46 minutes, as per reports. The dragon can fly directly over the North and South poles from low Earth orbit. The last-recorded highest inclination flown on a crewed flight was 65 degrees. The mission is also funded by cryptocurrency investor Chun Wang. In the three and a half days, the dragon will observe Earth’s Poles and explore the impact of spaceflight on the health of humans. 

“Dragon and the crew will launch to a 90° circular orbit from Florida, and travel to ~440 km above Earth to explore the polar regions of our planet,” SpaceX wrote on X.

Fram2, the first crewed mission to fly over the Earth's poles will conduct a mixed bag of 22 experiments - observations of polar aurora, observation on crew health, exploring how mushrooms grow in microgravity.

In a first-of-its kind experiment with splashdown, the Framonauts will leave the dragon capsule on their own. This is to evaluate how future space mission crews can exit the spacecraft safely on their own. “When you land on the moon or Mars or any planetary surface, there’s not going to be any recovery team there to greet you,” SpaceX senior medical research engineer Marissa Rosenberg said during a webcast before the launch.

Marking another uniqueness to its kitty, the mission will have it splashdown off the California coast. 

Meet The ‘Framonauts’

The Fram2 mission is headed by Chun Wang of Malta along with vehicle commander Jannicke Mikkelsen from Norway, pilot Rabea Rogge of Germany, and Australian medical officer and mission specialist Eric Phillips. 

During a livestreamed mission overview on X, Chun Wang said that his journey has been shaped by ‘lifelong curiosity and a fascination with pushing boundaries’. Recalling his childhood days, Wang said that as a kid, ‘he used to stare at the blank white space at the bottom of the world map, wondering what was out there’. 

Norwegian cinematographer Jannicke Mikkelsen is designated to look after the dragon operations in different dynamic phases of the flight, mostly during launch and splashdown. The crew also includes Robotics researcher from Germany Rabea Rogge who is the first German woman to go into the orbit. During the much-hyped mission, she will monitor dragon's displays and collect data.