Yesterday, SpaceX dropped some fresh deets on its upcoming super cool private astronaut mission known as Polaris Dawn. This mission, led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, is set to blast off into space this summer, and it’s got some seriously ambitious goals. During a chat on social media, Isaacman and the SpaceX crew spilled the beans on what to expect.
One of the big things they’re aiming for is testing how humans handle long-duration space flights, which is crucial for future missions to Mars. Polaris Dawn is going to fly higher in orbit than any other crewed mission since way back in 1966, during NASA’s Gemini program. And get this: they’re even planning some spacewalks, which haven’t been done by a privately trained crew before!
But before they start floating around in the void, they’ve got to gear up. SpaceX has custom-designed some slick extravehicular activity (EVA) suits for the mission. These suits are hooked up to the ship’s oxygen and other essentials, but that also means spacewalks are limited to just two hours. Still, it’s a big step forward for private space travel.
Now, let’s talk science. Anna Menon, the mission’s medical guru, spilled the beans on some of the experiments they’ve got lined up. They’ve picked out forty proposals from all over the globe, focusing on stuff that works at the mission’s crazy altitude. Plus, they’re launching into an orbit that’ll make history, reaching heights not touched since the Apollo days.
But going out in space means modifying the Crew Dragon capsule. They had to suck out all the air inside to make it spacewalk-friendly, which meant testing every material to make sure it could handle the vacuum. And when it’s time to head back inside, they’ve got a fancy new nitrogen system to re-pressurize the ship.
Moving around in space ain’t easy, so they’ve added some cool gadgets like a “skywalker” to help the crew get around. It’s replacing the cupola seen on previous Dragon missions and can handle the wild temperature swings of space.
And let’s not forget the suits themselves. They’ve got high-tech helmets that feed real-time data to the crew, helping them stay safe and avoid any nasty side effects from spacewalking. Overall, it’s shaping up to be one heck of a mission, pushing the boundaries of what private space travel can achieve.
