KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – There have been many milestones throughout space exploration history, but for Polaris Dawn, the mission is looking to check off several milestones over the course of five days.
SpaceX is set to launch the Polaris Dawn mission on a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule from Kennedy Space Center’s historic pad 39A. The crew includes Mission Commander Jared Isaacman, Mission Pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet, Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis and Mission Specialist and Medical Officer Anna Menon.
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They plan to reach the following milestones for commercial spaceflight.
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High altitude
Flying higher than any human has flown since the final Apollo mission reaching an orbital altitude of 870 miles from Earth’s surface — or more than three times higher than the International Space Station.
Orbiting through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt, Polaris Dawn will conduct research with the aim of better understanding the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health.
First commercial spacewalk
At 700 kilometers above Earth, the crew will attempt the first-ever commercial spacewalk with SpaceX-designed extravehicular activity (EVA) spacesuits. Mission managers say the development and execution of the EVA suit are vital for future long-duration missions, like for the Moon and Mars.
In-space communications
Much like having the proper attire, communication is also important for far-away space missions. The Polaris Dawn crew will be the first crew to test Starlink laser-based communication in space that will provide valuable data.
Health impact research
While in orbit, the crew will conduct around 40 experiments for critical “scientific research” to gather information on human health on Earth and during future long-duration space flights including:
- Using an ultrasound to monitor, detect, and quantify venous gas emboli (VGE), contributing to studies on human prevalence to decompression sickness
- Gathering data on the radiation environment to better understand how space radiation affects human biological systems
- Providing biological samples for multi-omics analyses for a long-term Biobank
- Research related to Spaceflight Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (SANS), which is a key risk to human health in long-duration spaceflight.
The Polaris Dawn mission and its series of future missions are named after the North Star.
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