Watch: SpaceX Fram2 astronauts become first to orbit over Earth's poles

SpaceX's Fram2 mission makes history as the first crewed flight to orbit over Earth's poles, capturing stunning images and video of the Arctic and Antarctic

In a first, humans have taken a glimpse of what lies beyond the vast, unbroken ice expanses of Earth’s polar regions—long considered among the planet’s most remote and mysterious frontiers. The privately funded Fram2 mission, launched by SpaceX, marks the first human spaceflight to orbit Earth via its poles, capturing unprecedented views of the Arctic and Antarctic from space.

 

Footage taken aboard the Dragon Resilience spacecraft reveals Earth’s icy polar caps and phenomena such as auroras and ice formations. These visuals are expected to contribute to climate research.     Looking down at Antarctica, Commander Chun Wang shared his thoughts from orbit: “Hello Antarctica,” he wrote. “Unlike previously anticipated, from 460 km [285 miles] above, it is only pure white—no human activity is visible.”   

Commander Wang also shared a timelapse video showing the journey from Antarctica to the Arctic, captured during Fram2’s flight.

Watch: Timelapse from Antarctica to the Arctic captured by Fram2

 

First of its kind: Why this mission matters

Historically, most crewed space missions have taken place in equatorial or low-inclination orbits. The Fram2 mission is the first instance of astronauts orbiting Earth on a true polar trajectory—at a 90-degree inclination—passing directly over both the North and South Poles rather than following the conventional west-to-east path.

 

The closest approach to a polar orbit before this was made by the Soviet Vostok 6 mission in 1963, which reached an inclination of 65 degrees.

About SpaceX’s Fram2 mission

SpaceX reached a new milestone with the Fram2 mission, launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:16 am IST on April 1. It marks the first crewed flight to traverse Earth’s polar regions. The mission is funded and commanded by cryptocurrency billionaire Chun Wang and carried by a Falcon rocket and Crew Dragon capsule.

 

The crew includes:

 

• Jannicke Mikkelsen (Norway), vehicle commander and filmmaker known for her work in Arctic and marine environments
• Rabea Rogge (Germany), pilot and engineer specialising in robotics and polar research
• Eric Phillips (Australia), medical officer and polar explorer who has led expeditions to both poles

Over its three-to-five-day orbital mission, the team plans to conduct 22 scientific experiments focused on studying the polar regions from space. 

The crew is scheduled to conclude the mission with a splashdown off the coast of California later this week.