SpaceX launches spacecraft with tourists aboard in polar-orbiting mission
Photo: The flight will take 3 to 5 days (Getty Images)
On Monday, Elon Musk’s company SpaceX sent a team of four private astronauts (tourists) into Earth's orbit. They are flying on a trajectory from pole to pole, which no human has ever traveled before, CNN, Reuters, and SpaceX report.
The sponsor and commander of SpaceX's mission, called Fram2, is a Maltese investor of Chinese origin, Chun Wang, who founded a Bitcoin mining company. The crew also includes three other members: Norwegian film director Jannike Mikkelsen, German robotics researcher and polar scientist Rabea Rogge, and Australian adventurer Eric Philips.
Wang and his three colleagues launched aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule at 9:47 p.m. EDT from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The autonomous flight will last between three and five days. During the mission, they will participate in 22 research experiments.
"They will ... conduct 22 research designed to help advance humanity's capabilities for long-duration space exploration and understanding of human health in space. Throughout Fram2's time on-orbit, the crew are planning to take the first x-ray in space, perform exercise studies to maintain muscle and skeletal mass, and grow mushrooms in microgravity," the report by SpaceX states.
Reuters also described how it all began. In particular, on Monday afternoon, the four crew members were transported to the launch pad in a convoy of Tesla vehicles - electric cars from another of Musk's companies. The motorcade, escorted by police, moved along the roads of Cape Canaveral, Florida, while above them, as part of an unrelated Starlink mission, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was launching.
This mission, SpaceX's sixth private astronaut flight, is the latest pioneering step reinforcing the company's dominant position in global crewed spaceflight. It takes place amid Musk's growing influence as the CEO of SpaceX and the world's richest person, who now serves as a close advisor to US President Donald Trump - a role that has given him an unprecedented level of influence over a wide range of American policy issues.
Musk plans to conquer Mars
A few weeks ago, billionaire Elon Musk announced that the Starship rocket will head to Mars at the end of next year. If the mission is successful, the first human landings on the Red Planet could take place within a few years.
"If those landings go well, then human landings may start as soon as 2029, although 2031 is more likely," Musk stated.
He added that future Mars missions and successful robotic landings will be crucial steps in preparing for human exploration.
