Elon Musk shares first-ever glimpses of Earth's poles from SpaceX's Fram2 mission

Elon Musk shares first-ever glimpses of Earth's poles from SpaceX's Fram2 mission

Just a day after the launch, SpaceX's Fram2 mission shared the first-ever images of Earth's poles, captured from the Dragon capsule. Elon Musk reposted the photos on X, saying, "This is the first time humans have been in orbit around the poles of Earth!"

This is the first time humans have been in orbit around the poles of Earth! https://t.co/mbmKkADED2

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Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2025

The mission, launched on March 31 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, marks the first crewed spaceflight to orbit Earth’s poles, with a team of first-time astronauts.

The mission is led by Chinese-born cryptocurrency billionaire Chun Wang, along with vehicle commander Jannicke Mikkelsen from Norway, pilot Rabea Rogge from Germany, and medical officer Eric Phillips from Australia.

The mission is expected to last between three and five days, during which the crew will conduct 22 scientific experiments, such as growing mushrooms in space for the first time and performing human body X-rays in orbit—both groundbreaking endeavors.

They are expected to return to Earth with a splashdown at sea.

"After safely returning to Earth, the crew plans to exit from the Dragon spacecraft without additional medical and operational assistance, helping researchers characterize the ability of astronauts to perform unassisted functional tasks after short and long durations in space," Space X said.