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SpaceX's Fram2 returns from first-of-its-kind mission around Earth's poles

The Fram2 mission, paid for and led by a cryptocurrency billionaire who is flying with three guests, has returned after a journey on a unprecedented polar orbit.

One at a time, the passengers tested getting out of their seats by themselves, taking off their foot rests, and bending down to grab their survival gear, which weighed about 35 pounds, according to Marissa Rosenberg, a senior medical research engineer at SpaceX, who provided commentary during a webcast of the Fram2 splashdown. Putting the Fram2 crew and spacecraft into polar orbit may have had more to do with planning a distinctive mission — rather than one ideally suited for science, said Dr. Christopher Combs, the associate dean of research at the Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The Fram2 crew’s research included Mikkelsen and Rogge using urine testing strips to measure their hormone levels in an attempt to gather novel health data about how women are affected by spaceflight.

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