Fram2 Astronauts Splash Down After Historic Polar Spaceflight

International four-person crew returns after nearly four days flying a 90-degree polar orbit and observing Earth’s poles from orbit for the first time.

Jack Daleo

Friday, April 04, 2025 at 04:50 PM ET

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Jack Daleo

A SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying the international Fram2 crew deploys its parachutes for splashdown after a successful polar orbit mission. [Courtesy: SpaceX]

Key Takeaways:

The private SpaceX Fram2 mission, carrying four civilian astronauts, successfully completed the first-ever crewed flight directly over Earth's poles after nearly four days in orbit.
The crew achieved a 90-degree polar orbit, the highest inclination ever for a crewed spacecraft, enabling unique observations of the poles and phenomena like STEVE.
During their mission, the "Framonauts" conducted 22 research experiments, including growing mushrooms in microgravity and producing the first X-ray images taken in space, while also testing Starlink.

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The first astronaut crew to fly directly over Earth’s poles splashed down safely on Friday after nearly four days on orbit.

Civilian astronauts Chun Wang, Jannicke Mikkelsen, Rabea Rogge, and Eric Phillips—the international crew of SpaceX’s private Fram2 mission—landed around 12:19 p.m. EDT and exited their SpaceX Dragon capsule without assistance, allowing researchers to study how the effects of spaceflight impact their ability to perform functional tasks. Wang, a crypto entrepreneur, purchased the intended three-to-five-day mission from SpaceX in August.