The first-ever flight of astronauts over the Earth’s poles has ended – Crew Dragon splashed down in the Pacific Ocean

Aerospace company SpaceX and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have completed the private Fram2 mission, which sent the Crew Dragon spacecraft with a crew of four into polar orbit for the first time in history. The capsule with astronauts landed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, completing a flight over the Earth’s poles that lasted more than three days.

Image source: SpaceX

«”We have confirmation of the landing of the Dragon spacecraft. Dragon has returned home with the Fram2 crew,” a SpaceX spokesman said during the live broadcast of the landing.

The Fram2 mission was funded by Maltese crypto billionaire Chun Wang, who also served as the crew commander. He was joined on the space journey by Norwegian film director Jannicke Mikkelsen, German Rabea Rogge, and Australian Eric Phillips. The Fram2 mission began a few days ago when the astronauts blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.

During their stay in space, the Fram2 crew conducted 22 scientific experiments. One of them produced the first ever X-ray of a human in space. Another experiment, called MushVroom, studied how mushrooms grow in microgravity. Another experiment, aimed at studying the processes of human body recovery, was conducted after the astronauts returned.