CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A team of four space tourists concluded their privately funded journey around the Earth's poles on Friday, successfully splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.
The mission, chartered by Bitcoin investor Chun Wang via SpaceX, featured a Dragon capsule equipped with a panoramic domed window. This design offered the crew unparalleled 360-degree views of the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Wang has not disclosed the cost of the three-and-a-half-day expedition.
Launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center the previous Monday, the group made their return off the coast of Southern California. This flight marked the first time humans have orbited the Earth above its poles and represented the first Pacific splashdown for a crewed mission in half a century.
Wang, originally from China but now a Maltese citizen, was accompanied by Norwegian filmmaker Jannicke Mikkelsen, German robotics expert Rabea Rogge, and Australian polar expedition leader Eric Philips. All shared in capturing the breathtaking polar landscapes during their orbital voyage.
In a video shared by Wang on social media platform X, Rogge described the experience: "It's so epic, like another kind of desert, stretching endlessly.".
Mikkelsen was focused on documenting the trip with a variety of camera equipment.
Wang reported that all four experienced space motion sickness upon reaching orbit. However, by the second day, they had adjusted and were able to fully enjoy the views, opening the window cover directly over the South Pole, as shared on X.
In addition to imaging the polar regions from an altitude of 270 miles (430 kilometers), Wang and the crew conducted the first in-space medical X-rays as part of a test and carried out two dozen scientific experiments. They named their mission Fram2, paying homage to the historic Norwegian ship used for polar exploration. A piece of the original vessel's wooden deck accompanied the crew into space.
SpaceX cited safety as the primary reason for shifting splashdown locations from Florida to the Pacific, starting with this mission. The company explained that Pacific splashdowns would ensure any remaining trunk debris – discarded near the flight’s conclusion – falls safely into the ocean.
The last crewed Pacific return occurred during the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission, featuring three NASA astronauts.