'Liftoff!' - SpaceX launches first-ever private mission to cruise over Earth's poles | WATCH

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Fram2 mission astronauts aboard lifts off from launch pad LC‑39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on March 31, 2025. Launching aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule Resilience, the Fram2 mission will be the first human spaceflight ever to cruise over Earth's polar regions.

A first-of-its-kind space mission, which is entirely funded by a cryptocurrency billionaire, was launched by Elon Musk’s SpaceX from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on Monday. Riding on the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, the unique mission will cruise over the North and South Pole. The Farm2 crew will spend somewhere between three to five days in space before landing off the California coast.

Cryptocurrency billionaire Chun Wang is the mission commander. He is accompanied by three guests - Rabea Rogge, Eric Philip and Jannicke Mikkelsen.

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

SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 1, 2025

As per the statement by SpaceX, the Fram2 crew will handle around 20 experiments and conduct studies as they orbit the Earth’s poles. Majorly, the focus of the studies will be to analyse the response of human body to microgravity.

The name of first human spaceflight to the polar orbit has deep connection to polar exploration on Earth. The Fram2 crew picked the moniker to pay tribute to Fram, the 1892Norweigan ship that had conducted key polar excursions in the region. Fram2 crew will also try to grow mushrooms in space. However, due to the safety concerns, they will not consume the harvest.

The mission will also try to bridge the gender gap in the space research. A tech startup from Britain has sent urine test strips along with the Fram2 female crew - Rabea Rogge and Mannicke Mikkelsen.