See it: SpaceX shares first stunning views from polar orbit never before seen from human spaceflight
While Fram2 is among the nearly 630 missions to orbit Earth, it's the first to take the journey this way, orbiting from pole to pole versus missions that orbit near the equator.
First look at polar orbit from SpaceX Fram2 mission
Video taken from inside a SpaceX Dragon capsule shows Earth's poles from space seen for the first time by a human spaceflight. The private Fram2 mission launched on Monday, March 31, 2025 to a 90 degree orbit around Earth.
SpaceX is sharing the first look at the vast expanse of ice layering Earth's poles after launching the private Fram2 mission, the first human spaceflight to polar orbit.
A stunning video taken from SpaceX's Dragon capsule by the "Framonauts" shows their view from the spacecraft orbiting Earth at a 90-degree inclination over the north and south poles. The private mission, led by Mission Commander Chun Wang, of Malta, is named after the original Fram ship that first reached the Earth’s polar regions in the 1800s. Fram also means "forward" in Norweigan.
The Fram2 mission launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday night, beginning the historic mission for Wang, Jannicke Mikkelsen, of Norway, Rabea Rogge, of Germany, and Eric Philips, of Australia.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the Dragon spacecraft with four framonauts inside from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, March 31, 2024. The private mission marks the first human spaceflight to orbit Earth's polar regions.
(SpaceX / FOX Weather)
SpaceX is sharing live updates on the Dragon's location, which was above the Arctic on Tuesday morning.
While Fram2 is among the nearly 630 missions to orbit Earth, it's the first to take the journey this way, orbiting from pole to pole versus missions that orbit near the equator. Even astronauts on the International Space Station have not seen the views the "framonauts" are experiencing. This orbit required a unique southern launch trajectory flying over Florida and Cuba.
The Fram2 mission location on Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
(SpaceX / FOX Weather)
More views like that in the video above are coming, especially once the crew gets into the Dragon Cupola, a 4-foot-wide 360-degree window to space. This is the second Dragon spacecraft with a cupola.
According to SpaceX, the Dragon will fly from the north to the south pole about every 46 minutes.
A screenshot of a video taken from the SpaceX Dragon capsule shows Earth's poles from space seen for the first time by a human spaceflight during the private Fram2 mission on March 31, 2025.
(SpaceX/Fram2 / FOX Weather)
The crew aims to conduct 22 different research experiments during the flight. One of those research projects is the SolarMax Mission to film the aurora borealis for researchers and citizen scientists. The crew plans to try and capture the rare phenomenon known as STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement), a relatively new type of Northern Lights.
Following their mission, the Dragon will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California, marking another first. All previous human spaceflights in Dragon have splashed down off the west or east coast of Florida.