<figure id="attachment_3023665" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3023665" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3023665" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/df47e3e5-spacex-afp-pic-2425.webp" alt="spacex" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3023665" class="wp-caption-text">A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Fram2 mission astronauts aboard soars into its southern orbit after lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (AFP pic)</figcaption></figure>
CAPE CANAVERAL: SpaceX launched the first human spaceflight directly over Earth&#8217;s polar regions on Monday &#8211; a days-long, privately funded orbital mission involving four astronauts.
Named &#8220;Fram2&#8221; after the famed Norwegian ship built in the 19th century for Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, the mission will feature a range of experiments including taking the first X-ray in space and growing mushrooms in microgravity.
It&#8217;s hoped that the research will support future long-duration space travel to Mars.
The crew launched aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on a Falcon 9 rocket at 9:46 pm Monday (0146 GMT Tuesday) from Nasa&#8217;s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Cheers rang out in the control room as the powerful rocket roared upward, lighting up the night sky with a long, orange plume of flame as the craft began its journey toward Earth&#8217;s North and South Poles.
&#8220;With the same pioneering spirit as early polar explorers, we aim to bring back new data and knowledge to advance the long-term goals of space exploration,&#8221; mission commander Chun Wang said before the launch.
Wang, a Chinese-born Maltese adventurer and co-founder of crypto companies f2pool and skatefish, selected the rest of the crew: vehicle commander Jannicke Mikkelsen, a Norwegian film director; mission pilot Rabea Rogge, a robotics researcher from Germany; and mission specialist and medical officer Eric Philips, an Australian polar explorer.
The team trained for eight months in preparation for the approximately four-day trip, including a wilderness expedition in Alaska to simulate living in close quarters under harsh conditions.
Upon returning to Earth, the crew will attempt to exit the spacecraft without additional medical support &#8211; part of a study to help researchers understand how well astronauts can perform basic tasks after spaceflight.
Except for the Apollo lunar missions, Earth&#8217;s polar regions have remained out of view for astronauts, including those aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Even on Apollo, they did not fly directly over the Earth&#8217;s poles.
SpaceX has carried out five private astronaut missions to date &#8211; three in collaboration with Axiom Space to the ISS, and two free-flying in Earth orbit.
The first of these was Inspiration4 in 2021, followed by Polaris Dawn, which featured the first spacewalk conducted by private astronauts.
Both free-flying missions were chartered by e-payments billionaire Jared Isaacman, who has also been nominated by president Donald Trump to serve as the next Nasa administrator.
Isaacman is also a close associate of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

MatchPoint Times

SpaceX launches private astronauts on first crewed polar orbit

The mission will feature a range of experiments including taking the first X-ray in space and growing mushrooms in microgravity.

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