What is SpaceX’s Fram2 polar-orbiting mission? Who is aboard the rocket?

Elon Musk’s SpaceX sent four private astronauts into orbit on March 31 as part of the historic Fram2 mission.

A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, carried by a Falcon 9 rocket, launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:46 pm local time.

Notably, none of the crew members have been to space before.

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But what are the mission’s objectives? Who are the private astronauts on board?

We will answer these questions:

Explained: What is the Fram2 mission?

Simply put, the mission aims to achieve something never attempted by professional astronauts - orbiting Earth from pole to pole.

Over the course of three to five days, the autonomous Dragon spacecraft will repeatedly fly from the North Pole to the South Pole at an altitude of 267 miles, completing each orbit in about 46 minutes.

Liftoff of Fram2 and the @framonauts! pic.twitter.com/XBL5juCnHQ

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 1, 2025

Fram2’s objective is to carry out a mission inspired by the crew’s passion for polar exploration. It follows in the footsteps of previous space tourism ventures, such as SpaceX’s Inspiration4 mission in 2021.

This mission is unique because no human has ever flown directly over both of Earth’s poles. The flight path demands quite more fuel compared to traditional orbits closer to the equator.

The icy polar caps remain out of view for astronauts aboard the International Space Station, which orbits near Earth’s equatorial line. The closest any crewed mission has come to the poles was the Soviet-era Vostok 6 flight in 1963.

During the mission, the astronauts will take part in research, allowing scientists to study how their bodies respond to weightlessness and adapt to motion sickness, a common challenge for space travellers.

The mission is led and funded by cryptocurrency billionaire Chun Wang.

“My own journey has been shaped by lifelong curiosity and the fascination with pushing boundaries,” Chun said during an audio-only Spaces session on X.

The crew will carry out several activities, including:

• Growing oyster mushrooms in microgravity as part of an experiment called Mission MushVroom

• Conducting 22 research studies

• Examining exercise routines to counter muscle loss and bone density reduction in microgravity

• Performing the first-ever X-ray imaging in space

• Gathering new data on Earth’s polar regions, which play a crucial role in climate change research

• Testing unassisted egress from the Dragon capsule to assess astronauts’ physical readiness post-mission

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Why is the mission named ‘Fram2’?

The mission takes its name from the famous Norwegian ship “Fram,” which played a key role in early 20th-century polar exploration, helping adventurers reach Earth’s Arctic and Antarctic regions.

Built in Norway specifically for polar research, the Fram was the first vessel of its kind.

To honour the ship, the astronauts on the spaceflight are carrying a small piece of it with them to orbit.

Named in honor of Fram, the first exploration ship to complete voyages to the Arctic and Antarctica in the late 1800s, the @framonauts are carrying a small piece of that ship with them to orbit pic.twitter.com/dDTJNiT7lc

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 1, 2025

The Fram2 mission aims to honour its namesake by undertaking a groundbreaking polar voyage of its own.

According to the Fram Museum in Oslo, where the ship is now kept and exhibited, it was part of three major expeditions: Fridtjof Nansen’s drift across the Arctic Ocean from 1893 to 1896, Otto Sverdrup’s journey to the Arctic archipelago west of Greenland, now Canada’s Nunavut region, from 1898 to 1902, and Roald Amundsen’s expedition to Antarctica for his South Pole mission between 1910 and 1912.

If successful, Wang and his three fellow astronauts could make history by becoming the first crew to observe and film Earth’s polar regions from low-Earth orbit during their three-to-five-day journey.

Who are the crew members on board?

Malta-based entrepreneur Chun Wang is leading the Fram2 mission as its commander, alongside a crew of three fellow spacefarers.

Joining him on the journey are Jannicke Mikkelsen from Norway, Eric Philips from Australia, and Rabea Rogge from Germany.

Chun Wang

Originally from China, Wang is now based in Malta and helped fund the Fram2 mission.

He is a co-founder of F2Pool, a global bitcoin mining network.

Wang met his fellow crew members while living in Svalbard. Having travelled to over 100 countries in recent years, he describes himself as “nomadic,” according to CNBC.

“I’ve been interested in space from a very young age … and for the first time, a private person can plan and design their own very personal mission,” he told the media outlet last year.

Jannicke Mikkelsen

Mikkelsen is a Norwegian filmmaker who will serve as the mission’s vehicle commander.

She specialises in working in extreme environments such as the Arctic and open ocean and is known for her use of advanced filmmaking technology.

Mikkelsen has collaborated with English broadcaster and naturalist David Attenborough to produce 360-degree underwater documentaries. She was also the payload specialist for the One More Orbit mission, which orbited the Earth via the North and South Poles to mark the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

“As a filmmaker, I have long dreamed of these possibilities in fiction. Now, step by step, commercial mission by commercial mission, we are turning those dreams into reality,” Mikkelsen said in a statement on the Fram2 website.

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Rabea Rogge

Serving as the mission’s pilot, Rabea Rogge is a German engineer and scientist specialising in robotics and polar research.

She is currently pursuing a PhD in marine technology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Notably, Rogge is the first female German astronaut to head into space.

“She has always been fascinated by extreme environments, studying them to understand the limits of our world - and to push beyond them. Her work includes leading a satellite mission and researching ocean robotics in the Arctic,” her mission bio reads.

Eric Philips

Australian polar explorer Eric Philips will take on the role of mission specialist and medical officer.

An experienced adventurer and guide, he has led numerous ski expeditions to both the North and South Poles.

Philips co-founded and previously served as president of the International Polar Guides Association. He also co-created the Polar Expeditions Classification Scheme, which categorises and grades extended polar journeys.

“Having spent much of my adult life in the polar regions, this is an incredible opportunity to view the Arctic and Antarctica from space - in particular Antarctica, which will be fully lit at this time of year,” Phillips said in a statement on the mission website.

With inputs from agencies