Groundbreaking polar orbit mission pushes human limits in space

The first-ever crewed orbital mission over the poles of our planet, Fram2, is underway. Four commercial astronauts flew into space on March 31 at 1:46 AM GMT. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried the crew in the Dragon Resilience capsule to orbit. The first day is just behind them, and as reported on X by the commander and sponsor of the entire mission - Chun Wang, physically, it was quite a challenge for the whole crew. They are set to spend a maximum of five days in Earth's orbit and conduct 22 scientific experiments.

This mission is historic in several respects. Until now, no spacecraft with people on board has ever moved in an orbit with a 90-degree inclination, allowing flight over Earth's north and south poles. The crew also brought with them an X-ray generator, which enabled the first-ever X-ray image of a human body in space. The success of Fram2 will also open a new chapter in the history of private crewed flights to low Earth orbit.

The entire flight is sponsored by a Maltese entrepreneur of Chinese descent, Chun Wang, who also serves as the mission commander. Accompanying him on the Dragon Resilience capsule are: Jannicke Mikkelsen, a director and cinematographer; German robotics engineer Rabea Rogge; and Australian adventurer Eric Philips. It is worth mentioning that the spacecraft hosting the astronauts is equipped with a unique observation dome, similar to the one used during the private Inspiration4 mission.

"The ride to orbit was much smoother than I had anticipated. Apart from the final minute before SECO, I barely felt any G-forces—it honestly felt like just another flight," started Chun Wang's post on X. "I had imagined it would feel like being in an elevator that suddenly drops, but that sensation never came," he wrote, adding that the tight seatbelt straps likely made the transition less noticeable.

He further admitted that the first day was physically challenging for the entire crew. "The first few hours in microgravity weren’t exactly comfortable. Space motion sickness hit all of us—we felt nauseous and ended up vomiting a couple of times. It felt different from motion sickness in a car or at sea. You could still read on your iPad without making it worse. But even a small sip of water could upset your stomach and trigger vomiting," Wang wrote.

He also reported that German robotics engineer Rabea Rogge spent some time on amateur radio, contacting Berlin. "No one asked opening the cupola on the first day—we were all focused on managing the motion sickness. We had a movie night watching our own launch and went to sleep a bit earlier than scheduled. We all slept really well," the mission commander shared on X.

The second day for the crew is already better. "By the second morning, I felt completely refreshed. The trace of motion sickness is all gone. We had breakfast, took a few X-ray images, and opened the cupola three minutes after midnight UTC—right above the South Pole. Stay tuned," concluded the mission commander.

Shortly thereafter, there was a post about the Dragon capsule flying over the South Pole. "Hello, Antarctica. Unlike previously anticipated, from 460 km above, it is only pure white, no human activity is visible," wrote Chun Wang on X, attaching footage from inside the cockpit and from a special camera installed outside.

Until now, only the crews of lunar Apollo missions have seen the poles, but from a great distance. The Fram2 mission crew will observe these areas from about 435 kilometres above Earth's surface and will be able to fly from the North Pole to the South Pole in less than an hour. Interestingly, after the mission, the crew plans to leave the Dragon capsule independently without assistance from SpaceX personnel to test the astronauts' abilities right after returning from orbit.