Updated March 31, 2025 at 22:47 PM ET
SpaceX launched four people into space Monday evening on a first-ever human mission to orbit Earth's polar regions.
After liftoff from the U.S., a typical crewed launch flies to the east or northeast. The privately funded Fram2 mission departed the Kennedy Space Center and flew due south — over Florida and Cuba. Normally, space launches avoid populated areas in case of a catastrophic failure. SpaceX says it modified the flight software so the capsule could be eased away from population centers in case of an emergency.
The Fram2 mission is bankrolled by cryptocurrency entrepreneur Chun Wang, a Chinese-born Maltese citizen. He's joined by Jannicke Mikkelsen, a film director and cinematographer from Norway; Rabea Rogges, an electrical engineer, robotic researcher and polar scientist from Germany; and Eric Philips, a polar explorer and private astronaut from Australia.
The astronauts are expected to remain in space for three to five days, circling above the North and South poles — before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off Southern California. The crew will conduct 22 experiments, including taking the first X-ray and growing mushrooms.
The three-to-five-day flight is being lofted into space by a Falcon 9 booster. The mission is named after the Fram, a steam-and-sail powered ship used by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen during his historic 1910-1912 expedition to the South Pole.
The polar orbit means the spacecraft will circle the Earth over the North Pole and Antarctica, unlike previous missions that orbited West-to-East, roughly parallel to the equator. Although astronauts have not flown in polar orbits before, such orbits are common for satellites conducting Earth observation and mapping, weather data collection and environmental monitoring because they cover the entire planet.
"The ionizing radiation dose will certainly be higher over the poles," according to Kevin Lewis, a planetary scientist and associate professor at Johns Hopkins University.
"However, the dose rate is likely only a few times higher, and for a short-duration flight wouldn't likely be a concern, outside of perhaps extreme solar flares," he explains referring to sudden, intense explosions on the Sun that can send a stream of charged particles, X-rays and gamma rays speeding toward Earth.
Among the 22 studies and experiments planned for the short mission, one will capture radiation measurements inside the Dragon spacecraft and assess individual radiation exposure levels of each crew member.
Another study, carried out on behalf of FOODiQ Global, will attempt to cultivate oyster mushrooms aboard the capsule. Space nutritionist and FOODiQ Global CEO Dr. Flávia Fayet-Moore says that while mycelium has been grown in microgravity aboard the International Space Station, Fram2 marks the first time that mushrooms will be cultivated as a crop.
Fayet-Moore refers to mushrooms as "the perfect space crop," explaining that "the way they grow and complement plant systems is really perfect for exploration missions to the moon and Mars."
Mushrooms also have a natural ability to make vitamin D when exposed to ultraviolet light, "which is important for astronauts to counter bone loss in space," she says.
Oyster mushrooms were selected for study because they are resilient, easy to grow and quick to reach maturity, she says.
Fayet-Moore jokes that about 20% of people say they don't like mushrooms and that the astronaut selection criteria are already difficult enough without placing "must be willing to eat mushrooms on long-duration flights" to the list.
Liftoff for the Fram2 mission will occur from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch window opens at 9:46 p.m. ET on Monday, with additional opportunities for launch until 2:26 a.m. ET on Tuesday. If the launch is scrubbed, SpaceX may try again, beginning at 9:46 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
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