A new commercial space mission will launch early this winter to observe the polar regions from low orbit—the first manned mission ever to do so. It’s charmingly named Asynchronous Polar Satellite Frame2after the famous icebreaker used by Norwegian national hero Fridtjof Nansen. To explore the Arctic in the late nineteenth century.
The mission is likely led and funded by Chun Wang, an “entrepreneur and adventurer” who has been active in the crypto space since its early days and who now appears to be using his time and vast wealth to travel the world, and possibly space. (I tried to contact him to gather more details.)
Its crew will include Norwegian Jannik Mikkelsen, Australian Erik Phillips and German Rabbi Ruge (pictured above), who will all be making their first trip to orbit.
The FRAM 2 rocket is scheduled to launch into polar orbit from Florida in late 2024 (if a date is not set, that is always a possibility), after which it will remain at an altitude of 425 to 450 kilometers for three to five days.
But they won’t just be enjoying the scenery. They’ll be conducting a wealth of science on board, from what they hope will be the first X-ray imaging in space to observing “unusual light emissions similar to the aurora borealis.”
Fram2 will be an interesting first, and the choice of the North Pole—which is incredibly difficult to visit in person, but no more difficult than any other place to fly over from orbit—is an interesting one. That and the name suggest that Wang is a big fan of Nansen and other early explorers. (If you’re curious, there’s a Great museum in Oslo Even though the actual ship was standing in it.)
SpaceX has launched 13 crewed missions so far, and when it launches, Fram2 will be the sixth commercial astronaut mission.