Four Space Tourists Return from Polar Orbit Journey
Four space tourists who orbited the north and south poles have returned to Earth after splashing down in the Pacific, concluding their privately funded polar adventure on Friday. Bitcoin investor Chun Wang arranged a SpaceX flight for himself...
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Four space tourists who orbited the north and south poles have returned to Earth after splashing down in the Pacific, concluding their privately funded polar adventure on Friday.
Bitcoin investor Chun Wang arranged a SpaceX flight for himself and three companions aboard a Dragon capsule fitted with a domed window that offered 360-degree views of the polar caps and the landscape in between. Wang chose not to disclose the cost of the three-and-a-half-day journey.
The group launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Monday night and made their return off the Southern California coast. This mission marked the first human spaceflight mission to circumnavigate the globe above the poles, as well as the first Pacific splashdown for a space crew in five decades.
Originally from China, Wang, now a citizen of Malta, invited Norwegian filmmaker Jannicke Mikkelsen, German robotics researcher Rabea Rogge, and Australian polar guide Eric Philips, all of whom shared breathtaking views during the trip.
"It is so epic because it is another kind of desert, so it just goes on and on and on all the way," Rogge remarked in a video shared by Wang on X while admiring the sights from orbit.
Mikkelsen brought along extensive camera gear and dedicated much of her time to capturing the journey.
Initially, all four experienced space motion sickness once they reached orbit, according to Wang. However, by the time they woke up on the second day, they felt much better and opened the window cover positioned above the South Pole.
In addition to capturing images of the poles from 270 miles above, Wang and his team conducted the first medical X-rays in space as part of a research initiative and completed around two dozen other scientific experiments. They dubbed their mission Fram2, after the Norwegian sailing vessel that carried explorers to the poles over a century ago. A piece of the original ship's wooden deck accompanied the crew on their journey.
The medical testing continued even after splashdown. All four exited the capsule independently, carrying bags of equipment so researchers could assess their stability once back on solid ground. They celebrated with fists raised in excitement.
SpaceX indicated that the decision to change splashdown locations from Florida to the Pacific for this flight was made with safety in mind. The company stated that Pacific splashes would ensure any remnants of the trunk, which is jettisoned near the end of the flight, would land in the ocean.
The last crew to return from space to the Pacific were the three NASA astronauts involved in the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission.
Thomas Evans contributed to this article for TROIB News
Bitcoin investor Chun Wang arranged a SpaceX flight for himself and three companions aboard a Dragon capsule fitted with a domed window that offered 360-degree views of the polar caps and the landscape in between. Wang chose not to disclose the cost of the three-and-a-half-day journey.
The group launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Monday night and made their return off the Southern California coast. This mission marked the first human spaceflight mission to circumnavigate the globe above the poles, as well as the first Pacific splashdown for a space crew in five decades.
Originally from China, Wang, now a citizen of Malta, invited Norwegian filmmaker Jannicke Mikkelsen, German robotics researcher Rabea Rogge, and Australian polar guide Eric Philips, all of whom shared breathtaking views during the trip.
"It is so epic because it is another kind of desert, so it just goes on and on and on all the way," Rogge remarked in a video shared by Wang on X while admiring the sights from orbit.
Mikkelsen brought along extensive camera gear and dedicated much of her time to capturing the journey.
Initially, all four experienced space motion sickness once they reached orbit, according to Wang. However, by the time they woke up on the second day, they felt much better and opened the window cover positioned above the South Pole.
In addition to capturing images of the poles from 270 miles above, Wang and his team conducted the first medical X-rays in space as part of a research initiative and completed around two dozen other scientific experiments. They dubbed their mission Fram2, after the Norwegian sailing vessel that carried explorers to the poles over a century ago. A piece of the original ship's wooden deck accompanied the crew on their journey.
The medical testing continued even after splashdown. All four exited the capsule independently, carrying bags of equipment so researchers could assess their stability once back on solid ground. They celebrated with fists raised in excitement.
SpaceX indicated that the decision to change splashdown locations from Florida to the Pacific for this flight was made with safety in mind. The company stated that Pacific splashes would ensure any remnants of the trunk, which is jettisoned near the end of the flight, would land in the ocean.
The last crew to return from space to the Pacific were the three NASA astronauts involved in the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission.
Thomas Evans contributed to this article for TROIB News
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