In a historic moment, Eric Philips – far right in the above photo – joined the Fram2 mission yesterday, which will fly directly over the north and south poles from low-Earth orbit.
Philips is a professional explorer who has been to the poles around 30 times and will serve as the crew’s mission specialist and medical officer.
The mission is being funded by Chun Wang, a cryptocurrency billionaire born in China but who now claims Maltese citizenship.
It’s also the first crewed mission to go into a polar orbit, with an inclination of 90 degrees. Previously, the highest inclination flown was just 65 degrees on early Soviet Vostok missions.
In total, Fram2 will conduct 22 experiments sourced from eight countries aimed at advancing human health and performance, particularly for long-duration missions.
“Key highlights include capturing the first human X-ray images in space, studying blood flow restriction exercise to preserve muscle and bone mass, and growing mushrooms in microgravity as a potential space crop,” explained the organisers.
“Additional studies will explore sleep and stress patterns using wearable tech, continuous glucose monitoring, women’s hormonal health, motion sickness, and brain imaging immediately after landing using a portable MRI.
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“The crew will also observe green fragments and mauve ribbons of continuous emissions similar to the atmospheric phenomenon known as STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement), typically seen at altitudes of 400–500 kilometres.
“The mission’s diverse research portfolio is designed to generate data that will support humanity’s next steps toward sustainable living and working in space.”
Also onboard are Jannicke Mikkelsen, a Norwegian cinematographer who will act as the vehicle commander and Rabea Rogge, a robotics researcher from Germany who will act as the mission pilot.
Space Connect previously reported how Philips was picked for the mission after Wang – then a client of his at his adventure company – asked him via text.
“The text was words to the effect of I’m continuing the idea of this mission into space, and I’m looking for a polar explorer,” he said.
“Little did I know that I would be the chosen one.”
Wang, meanwhile, said during a pre-flight discussion that he was driven to pursue space by a “lifelong curiosity” of the polar missions.
“As a kid, I used to stare at the blank white space at the bottom of world maps, wondering what was out there,” he recalled.
Philips’ blast-off comes after Dr Chris Boshuizen reached sub-orbital space onboard Blue Origin’s second crewed spaceflight in 2021. Previously, both Paul Scully-Power and Andy Thomas left Earth, but both did so technically as US citizens.
In February, Elaine Hyde also flew to sub-orbital space on a Blue Origin flight. Hyde was born in Singapore, studied at school and university in Victoria and then moved to the US, though holds dual Australian citizenship.
Finally, last year, Katherine Bennell-Pegg became the first person to qualify as an astronaut under the Australian flag, after completing training with the European Space Agency. While she is now eligible for missions to the ISS, there is no guarantee that she will ever go to space.
The argument over what constitutes an astronaut has also become muddied in recent years after the FAA in 2021 effectively changed its qualifications to rule out many space tourists receiving their commercial wings.
Adam Thorn
Adam is a journalist who has worked for more than 40 prestigious media brands in the UK and Australia. Since 2005, his varied career has included stints as a reporter, copy editor, feature writer and editor for publications as diverse as Fleet Street newspaper The Sunday Times, fashion bible Jones, media and marketing website Mumbrella as well as lifestyle magazines such as GQ, Woman’s Weekly, Men’s Health and Loaded. He joined Momentum Media in early 2020 and currently writes for Australian Aviation and World of Aviation.
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