Let’s call this a giant leap forward in space science.
The Polaris Dawn mission, funded by billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sometime before Tuesday morning (August 27). The mission’s two primary operational goals are to conduct the first private spacewalk and fly to the highest altitude for a manned spacecraft since the Apollo era, about 870 miles (1,400 kilometers).
The four-person crew includes Commander Isaacman (who previously funded and commanded the private Inspiration4 orbital mission in 2021), pilot Scott “Kid” Poteet (a business associate of Isaacman’s at several companies), and mission specialists Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon (both SpaceX engineers).
Polaris Dawn also plans to conduct 40 scientific experiments in collaboration with 30 institutions around the world, Menon told reporters at a news conference Aug. 19. She said there are three categories of research: human health in areas such as bone density, vision and motion sickness; studies of pressure changes to understand how the body reacts at higher-than-normal altitudes; and research conducted on Earth to see how astronauts re-acclimate after spending several days in space.
relevant: How SpaceX’s Historic Polaris Dawn Private Spacewalk Will Go
The crew spent two days in the pressure chamber, testing technology that could improve their efficiency and preparing for the fluid changes that all astronauts experience in space: Fluids tend to move away from the lower body and toward the upper body and face, causing a temporary “facial puffiness syndrome” for new arrivals to space.
Polaris Dawn astronauts have advanced equipment to track how their bodies adapt and evolve during their five-day space missions. One is a contact lens that “measures intraocular pressure over a long period of time,” Menon said, referring to changes in the pressure inside the eye. “We can hope to better understand the mechanisms of these eye changes. As we look to a future where hundreds or thousands of people are living in space for long periods of time, it’s only a matter of time before there’s a medical emergency that requires intervention.”
relevant: SpaceX Polaris Dawn crew lands on launch pad ahead of first-ever private spacewalk (Photos, Video)
Astronauts will also use a camera-equipped endoscope that is designed to be inserted into the nostrils to examine the airway for inflammation or other factors that could cause “balance problems that astronauts face when they return to gravity.”
In fact, astronauts have already tested a device to see how they react to balance challenges. The test device “shoots electricity through the inner ear to simulate confusion and teach quicker adaptation skills.”
More information about the experiment and our partners can be found here. On the Polaris Dawn research page (Click on each partner’s logo to read more about the sponsored experiment.)
