The Mission

Named in honor of the ship that helped explorers first reach Earth’s Arctic and Antarctic regions, Fram2 will be the first polar-orbit human spaceflight mission to explore Earth. It will launch into a 90° circular orbit to the south from Florida, making it the first human spaceflight to fly over Earth’s polar regions from low-Earth orbit.

The North and South Poles are invisible to astronauts on the International Space Station, as well as to all previous human spaceflight missions except for the Apollo lunar missions but only from far away. To date, the highest inclination achieved by human spaceflight has been the Soviet Vostok 6 mission, at 65°. This new flight trajectory will unlock new possibilities for human spaceflight.

Trajectory

The crew plans to observe Earth’s polar regions at an altitude of 425–450 km. At this altitude, Dragon will fly from the North Pole to the South Pole in just 46 minutes and 40 seconds, exactly 30 times faster than the One More Orbit mission did in 2019, when crew member Jannicke Mikkelsen and her team circumnavigated the Earth in a Gulfstream G650ER and set the Guinness World Record.

Throughout the 3-to-5-day mission, the crew plans to observe Earth’s polar wilderness through Dragon’s cupola, leveraging insights from space physicists and citizen scientists to study unusual light emissions resembling auroras.

Research

The crew plans to observe Earth’s polar regions at an altitude of 425–450 km. At this altitude, Dragon will fly from the North Pole to the South Pole in just 46 minutes and 40 seconds, exactly 30 times faster than the One More Orbit mission did in 2019, when crew member Jannicke Mikkelsen and her team circumnavigated the Earth in a Gulfstream G650ER and set the Guinness World Record.

Throughout the 3-to-5-day mission, the crew plans to observe Earth’s polar wilderness through Dragon’s cupola, leveraging insights from space physicists and citizen scientists to study unusual light emissions resembling auroras.

Experiments

Fram2, the first human spaceflight over the Earth’s polar regions, will fly with a suite of science and research experiments the crew and SpaceX will conduct throughout the nearly four-day mission. The selected projects, sourced by SpaceX, will help advance humanity’s capabilities for long-duration space exploration and understanding 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.

Additionally, after safely returning to Earth, the crew plans to exit from the Dragon spacecraft without additional medical and operational assistance, helping researchers characterize the ability of astronauts to perform unassisted functional tasks after short and long durations in space.

“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,” said Chun Wang, mission commander. “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.”

Experiments and studies:

• The Egress study will help to characterize the ability of astronauts to perform unassisted functional tasks related to getting the landing vehicle in a safe configuration and exiting the lander after both short and long durations in space.

• The Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) study plans to demonstrate BFR during exercise in Dragon with a passive (Hytro) and active system (Delfi), and if found to be effective, would better enable astronauts to maintain muscle and bone health throughout long flights to and from Mars. This will be the first time exercise has taken place on Dragon.

• Mission MushVroom will be the first study to grow mushrooms in space. Oyster mushrooms are the perfect space crop, helping astronauts meet their nutritional needs on long-duration space missions like those to Mars, while closing the loop in plant agriculture and helping to minimize inputs and waste.

• For decades, astronauts have faced significant sleep disruptions during their missions. Using the Oura Ring, in collaboration with Oura Health, Inc. this study seeks to deeply investigate the alterations in sleep quality and stress levels among astronauts throughout their journey to space. By meticulously tracking astronauts' sleep patterns before, during, and after their spaceflight, this study marks a pivotal first step in conducting a longitudinal analysis of the profound effects of space travel on the human body, providing critical insights into how astronauts can successfully readjust to Earth-like conditions after their travel beyond our planet.

• Spaceflight impacts many aspects of human anatomy, particularly the brain. For over a decade, astronauts have undergone imaging to track these changes both before and after their journeys. Yet, a critical concern remains: the delay between an astronaut's return to Earth and their imaging session, which can confound results. This study seeks to eliminate that delay by employing the novel mobile Hyperfine MRI device. By imaging astronauts immediately upon their return, we aim to capture precise measurements that reveal how spaceflight alters brain anatomy more effectively than ever before.

• One of SpaceX's driving goals is to make space accessible to a broader swath of the population. More than 10% of the world population is diabetic. With a better understanding of glucose regulation in space and the accuracy of glucose monitoring tools, SpaceX will gain confidence in providing high-quality care to diabetic astronauts. The fluid shifts that occur in space may affect the accuracy of continuous glucose monitors, thus this study aims to validate a continuous glucose monitor over the duration of the Fram2 mission, as well as monitoring changes in glucose regulation due to exposure to microgravity.

• A women's health study will utilize the novel Hormona test and app to analyze how the female reproductive hormones are impacted by microgravity and space radiation.

• Space THAL explores how spaceflight and microgravity affect blood health, specifically focusing on anemia, a critical challenge for long-term missions like those to Mars.

• A study on motion sickness aims to quantify the severity and time course of motion sickness in astronauts, using a standardized stimulus, during and following gravity transitions into space and returning to Earth.

• A study on bone health will use advanced imaging to monitor direct changes to the microstructure that underpins bone loss. Integrating knowledge from short, medium and long-duration space flight missions will help understand how a mission to Mars might impact the human skeleton.

Courtesy of Fram2.

In keeping with a tradition started by NASA Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on the first crewed Dragon mission, the Crew-1 astronauts who first flew this particular capsule also named it.

The name Resilience was chosen to acknowledge those who are experiencing extraordinary hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic and to those who continue to experience persecution and oppression around the world.

The capsule's first mission lasted 167 days, parking at ISS from November 2020 to May 2021.

Dragon Vehicle Statistics

Total launches: 49

Visits to the ISS: 44

Total reflights: 29

Technical Specifications

Height: 8.1 m / 26.7 ft
Diameter: 4 m / 13 ft
Capsule volume: 9.3 m³ / 328 ft³
Trunk volume: 37 m³ / 1300 ft³
Launch Payload Mass: 6,000 kg / 13,228 lbs
Return Payload Mass: 3,000 kg / 6,614 lbs

The Crew Dragon spacecraft has carried 54 humans into orbit since May 2020

Dragon for crew

This SpaceX capsule is designed to carry a crew of four to the International Space Station or other Earth orbit destinations after being launched atop a reusable Falcon 9 rocket.

The capsule includes a launch abort system, an advanced environmental control and life support system that keeps the crew safe during flight, and state-of-the-art touchscreen interfaces.

Crew Dragon is designed to operate autonomously but can be manually controlled by SpaceX teams in Hawthorne, California, and the astronauts on board.

Under the contracted crew rotation missions to the Space Station for NASA, Dragon will carry a regular crew of 4 international astronauts.

Crew Dragon is also available for private missions to Earth orbit for paying customers.

For missions to the Station, Crew Dragon can remain in orbit for up to 6 months.

Photo credit: SpaceX

Falcon 9 is a reusable, two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of people and payloads into Earth orbit and beyond.

Falcon 9 is the world’s first orbital-class reusable rocket.

Stats

Completed missions: 460

Total landings: 415

Total reflights: 387

The Falcon 9 has launched 62 humans into orbit since May 2020

Specs

Height: 70 m / 229.6 ft

Diameter: 3.7 m / 12 ft

Mass: 549,054 kg / 1,207,920 lb

Payload to Low Earth Orbit (LEO): 22,800 kg / 50,265 lb

Payload to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO): 8,300 kg / 18,300 lb

Payload to Mars: 4,020 kg / 8,860 lb

On January 24, 2021, Falcon 9 launched the first ride-share mission to Sun Synchronous Orbit. It was delivering a record-setting 143 satellites to space. And while this was an important mission for SpaceX in itself, it was also the moment Falcon 9 overtook United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V for the total number of consecutive successful launches.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 had become America’s workhorse rocket, launching 31 times in 2021. It has already beaten that record this year, launching almost an average of once a week. While most of the launches deliver Starlink satellites to orbit, the company is still launching the most commercial payloads to orbit, too.

Falcon 9 is a medium-lift launch vehicle, with the capability to launch over 22.8 metric tonnes to low earth orbit. Unlike any other rocket, its first stage lands back on Earth after separating from its second stage. In part, this allows SpaceX to offer the cheapest option for most customers with payloads that need to reach orbit.

Under its ride-share program, a kilogram can be placed in a sun-synchronous orbit for a mere 1.1 million dollars, far cheaper than all other currently operating small satellite launch vehicles.

The reusability and fast booster turnaround times have made Falcon 9 the preferred choice for private companies and government agencies. This has allowed SpaceX to capture a huge portion of the launch market.

Protecting the Crew

On the launch pad, the crew will board Dragon prior to fueling of the rocket.

Dragon's abort system will be armed and ready to pull the crew away from Falcon 9 in the event a critical issue develops during fueling.

The launch to a 200 x 200 km orbit will take just under 9 minutes.

Dragon and its crew will then separate from the Falcon 9 second stage 11 minutes after liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center.

Photo courtesy of SpaceX

Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) is a historic launch site located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Originally constructed in the late 1960s, LC-39A was designed to support the Apollo program, including the groundbreaking Apollo 11 mission that first landed humans on the Moon in 1969. The pad also played a crucial role in launching Skylab missions and was instrumental during the Space Shuttle era, including the launch of the first Space Shuttle, Columbia, on STS-1 in 1981.

In 2014, SpaceX leased LC-39A from NASA and undertook extensive refurbishments to adapt the pad for its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. These upgrades involved significant modifications to the pad's infrastructure to meet the requirements of SpaceX’s rockets. Since then, LC-39A has become a vital launch site for SpaceX, supporting a range of missions including crewed flights under NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

Under SpaceX's management, LC-39A has been the site of several landmark events. It hosted the first Falcon 9 launch from the pad on March 30, 2017, and was the launch site for the historic Falcon Heavy debut on February 6, 2018, which was the most powerful rocket in operation at that time. Additionally, LC-39A was the launch site for the first crewed flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft on May 30, 2020, marking the first crewed spaceflight from U.S. soil since the end of the Shuttle program.

Today, LC-39A remains a critical asset for SpaceX, supporting both crewed and uncrewed missions. It continues to serve as a launch site for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets and is expected to play a central role in future missions, including those aimed at lunar exploration and beyond. The pad's rich history and ongoing significance highlight its importance in the broader context of space exploration.

Photo courtesy of Jenny Hautmann for Supercluster

A Shortfall of Gravitas" (ASOG) is one of SpaceX’s Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ships, designed to recover Falcon 9 rocket boosters at sea. Operating primarily in the Atlantic Ocean from Port Canaveral, Florida, ASOG joined SpaceX’s fleet in 2021. It plays a crucial role in SpaceX's reusability program, enabling the recovery and refurbishment of rocket boosters for future missions.

The name "A Shortfall of Gravitas" is inspired by science fiction author Iain M. Banks' Culture series, known for its playful and philosophical ship names. ASOG is fully autonomous, capable of sailing to its designated landing area and maintaining position without the need for a tugboat. Equipped with advanced thrusters, it ensures precise positioning even in challenging weather conditions and features a large landing platform for booster recovery.

ASOG is essential for missions requiring high velocities or distant orbits where landing on solid ground is not feasible. By recovering boosters at sea, ASOG helps SpaceX reduce costs and enhance the sustainability of spaceflight.

Photo courtesy to Jenny Hautmann for Supercluster