FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE – The United States launched its first human spaceflight mission over Earth’s polar regions on Monday.
A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, carrying a four-member crew, lifted off aboard a Falcon 9 rocket at 9:46 p.m. Eastern Time (0146 GMT Tuesday) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
After stage separation, the Falcon 9’s first stage successfully landed on the droneship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
The mission, dubbed “Fram2,” includes Mission Commander Chun Wang, Vehicle Commander Jannicke Mikkelsen, Mission Pilot Rabea Rogge, and Mission Specialist and Medical Officer Eric Philips.
Over its three-to-five-day duration, the crew will observe Earth’s polar regions through the Dragon’s cupola, focusing on aurora-like light emissions with insights from physicists and citizen scientists, according to the mission website.
The crew plans to conduct 22 experiments to enhance human health and performance in space, including capturing human X-ray images in microgravity, studying exercises to preserve muscle and bone mass, and growing mushrooms as a potential space crop.
Other research initiatives will explore sleep and stress patterns using wearable technology, continuous glucose monitoring, hormonal health, motion sickness, and portable brain imaging upon landing.