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Four space explorers will launch with SpaceX next week on a polar orbital mission that could unlock a new area in space for future spaceflights.
The four-person mission, known as Fram2, will launch on a four-day mission to polar orbit on March 31 in a SpaceX Dragon capsule on a Falcon 9 rocket.
SpaceX is targeting liftoff from Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a three-hour launch window opening at 11:20 p.m. ET.
The international crew includes Mission Commander Chun Wang, of Malta, Vehicle Commander Jannicke Mikkelsen, of Norway, Mission Pilot Rabea Rogge, of Germany, and Mission Medical Officer Eric Philips, of Australia.
The crew was selected by Wang.
Fram means “forward” in Norwegian and the mission is named after the original Fram ship that first reached the Earth’s polar regions in the 1800s.
According to the Fram2 mission website, the crew will be the first to view Earth’s poles from low-Earth orbit.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch will place the Dragon into a 90-degree circularized orbit, the highest of any human mission yet.
The International Space Station orbits the Earth at about 51.6 degrees, according to NASA.
“After extensive training and dedication from our entire crew, we are honored to continue the legacy of the Fram name in an exciting era of commercial space exploration,” Wang said in a statement.
The crew aims to conduct 22 different research experiments during the flight. One of those research projects is the SolarMax Mission to film the aurora borealis for researchers and citizen scientists.
The crew plans to try and capture the rare phenomenon known as STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement), a relatively new type of Northern Lights.
Fram2 will attempt to grow oyster mushrooms in orbit as part of the MushVroom study, which could be helpful for Mars missions and plant agriculture on Earth.
The crew will conduct several biomedical research studies in orbit, including taking the first X-ray in space, using a mobile MRI device and studying how space impacts female reproductive hormones.
SpaceX said the crew completed their final training for the mission last week at the company’s headquarters in California.