SpaceX’s Fram2 mission returns from first-of-its-kind mission around Earth’s poles

SpaceX is wrapping up the latest chapter in its commercial human spaceflight endeavors with the return of Fram2. The mission carried four passengers in a unique orbit around Earth that allowed humans to pass directly over the North and South poles for the first time.Led by cryptocurrency billionaire Chun Wang, who is the financier of this mission, the Fram2 crew has been free-flying through orbit since Monday.The group splashed down at 9:19 a.m. PT, or 12:19 p.m. ET, off the coast of California — the first West Coast landing in SpaceX’s five-year history of human spaceflight missions. The company livestreamed the splashdown and recovery of the capsule on its website.During the journey, the Fram2 crew members were slated to carry out various research projects, including capturing images of auroras from space and documenting their experiences with motion sickness.The ailment proved to be a significant issue for the crew, according to social media posts from Wang, who made his fortune with Bitcoin mining operations and is an avid traveler on Earth.

The Fram2 crew

Dr. Eric Donovan, an aurora expert with the University of Calgary’s department of physics and astronomy, also told CNN that he was excited by the prospect of seeing new images of aurora-like light shows from space.Donovan is one of the world’s foremost experts on Steve, a light spectacle that has only recently been studied and is occasionally visible in northern latitudes during an aurora.Taking photographs of aurora and other polar light shows has not been done extensively from space, as astronauts on the International Space Station can typically only attempt to capture such photographs in their spare time, he noted.“That’s one of the things that maybe is a good thing in self-funded spaceflight: because it’s self-funded, you can do whatever you want,” Donovan said.