SpaceX is preparing for its first historic spaceflight aimed at studying the polar regions of our planet. The inaugural crewed mission, named Fram2, will consist of four astronauts and will utilize the Crew Dragon spacecraft launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida.
The name Fram2 pays tribute to the Norwegian ship Fram, which undertook several Arctic and Antarctic expeditions from 1893 to 1912. The mission will be commanded by Chun Wang, with team members including Yannick Mikkelsen from Norway, Erik Phillips from Australia, and Rabea Rogge from Germany.
The mission will be conducted at an altitude of 425–450 km above Earth, allowing the crew to observe and study the polar regions and unusual light emissions similar to auroras. Unlike other missions, Fram2 will not visit the International Space Station but will focus on gathering unique data about Earth’s polar regions.
