X-rays, mushrooms and more: The science riding on SpaceX’s Fram2 astronaut mission around Earth’s poles
A new mission from SpaceX will soon send humans over Earth’s poles for the first time ever.
Launching no earlier than Monday (March 31), the privately funded, four-day Fram2 mission has quite a few tasks to accomplish in a short timespan.
The Fram2 crew will be the first people to observe the polar regions from low Earth orbit, and they’ll work on experiments and projects designed to forward our understanding of long-duration spaceflight. The mission will also mark the first time that crews have used an X-ray machine on humans in orbit.
The mission is named after the ocean-going vessel “Fram,” which Norwegian explorers used to explore both the Arctic and Antarctic regions in the late 1800s and early 1900s. (In Norwegian, “fram” means forward or onward.)
“With the same pioneering spirit as early polar explorers, we aim to bring back new data and knowledge to advance the long-term goals of space exploration,” Fram2 commander Chun Wang said in a statement.
Fram2 will conduct 22 different research experiments during its time in orbit. Here’s a rundown of some of the most interesting ones.
Related: Meet the astronauts of SpaceX’s Fram2 mission, the 1st to fly over Earth’s poles
- “SpaceXray” will capture the first X-ray images of humans in space.
- “Egress” will look into astronauts’ ability to carry out tasks like getting a landing vehicle in a safe configuration, as well as exiting the lander.
- “Blood Flow Restriction” will examine how astronauts can maintain muscle and bone health on long space missions .
- “Mission MushVroom” will be the first study centered around growing mushrooms in space, investigating a potential food source for astronauts traveling to Mars.
- A study that collaborates with Oura Health will examine astronauts’ sleep patterns before, during and after spaceflight.
- A study using a mobile MRI device will look into how spaceflight alters brain anatomy.
- An experiment that could laid diabetic astronauts by studying glucose regulation in space and changes that occur due to microgravity.
- A health study will analyze how microgravity and space radiation impact female reproductive hormones.
- Additional activities include studies on blood and bone health, as well as motion sickness.
The four-person Fram2 mission will launch on the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Resilience. It will be the fourth liftoff for Resilience.
“Much like Fridtjof Nansen, who led a groundbreaking logistical operation during his historic Fram expedition in the 1800s, the science and research projects onboard will inform how we prepare for future missions, ultimately helping make space more accessible to us all,” Wang said in the statement, which provides more details about the 22 Fram2 experiments.
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