Space tourists who made the first manned flight over the planet’s poles have returned to Earth
Four space tourists have safely returned to Earth after completing the first ever manned flight over both poles of the planet. The mission, organized by the SpaceX company, ended with a landing in the Pacific Ocean near the coast of Southern California, informs Associated Press.
The unique trip was paid for by Maltese cryptocurrency investor Chun Wang, who did not disclose the amount of expenses for the 4-day expedition. Norwegian film director Yannicke Mikkelsen, German robotics researcher Rabe Rogge and Australian polar guide Eric Phillips were on board with him.
“It’s so epic to see the view of the desert that never ends.” – said Rabe Rogge.
According to Chun Wang, all four initially experienced symptoms of space sickness after entering orbit, but they felt fine the next day. When they woke up, they opened the window and saw the South Pole in front of them.
During the flight, the crew members observed the polar ice through a dome-shaped window with a panoramic 360-degree view. They documented the appearance of both poles from a height of 430 kilometers, took the first ever X-ray images from orbit and conducted about twenty scientific experiments.
The team named its mission Fram2 — in honor of the legendary Norwegian sailing ship that carried researchers to the polar latitudes more than a hundred years ago. Part of the original wooden deck of this ship was taken with them on the flight.
After landing, all mission participants independently left the capsule. They became the first people in half a century to return from space to the Pacific Ocean — the last such landing took place in 1975 during the Apollo-Soyuz mission.
We will remind that at the end of March, two NASA astronauts also returned to Earth, who had to spend nine months in orbit due to ship problems.
Photo: wikimedia.org
