4 unknown people are going into space with SpaceX, to do what ?

© SpaceX

It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. A billionaire, a former US Air Force pilot and two SpaceX engineers are going to go into space. However, this story is very real. Of the 4 passengers on the next “Polaris Dawn” mission, no one is a professional astronaut. Only Jared Isaacman has already been to space. It was during the “Inspiration 4” tourist trip paid for by his expenses.

Despite a more than questionable casting, the “Polaris Dawn” mission will indeed take place. Alongside Isaacman, we find former pilot Scott Poteet and engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon. According to the flight plan released to the press, this fine team should spend 5 days in space and carry out several experiments there.

Preparing for the arrival of Man on Mars

The flight path of this mission, which will be carried out entirely in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, should take them farther than any human being has ever been since the end of the Apollo program 50 years ago. They will end up 1,400 kilometers from Earth, crossing the Van Allen radiation belt.

SpaceX has high expectations for these missions. A trip through the Van Allen belt should provide insight into the human body’s ability to absorb particles and solar radiation. The company wants to study the human body’s resistance to this new environment. This information will be crucial for sending men to the Moon or Mars one day.

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A historic spacewalk

On SpaceX's mission schedule, we can read for day 3 “EVA”. In other words, members of the crew will perform an extravehicular activity. Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis will have the immense honor of spending a few moments floating in the void of space.

A moment in history with many aspects. Indeed, civilians have never participated in an EVA. In addition, their ship, Dragon, was not built with a depressurization airlock. To allow the apprentice astronauts to exit, the entire capsule will have to be exposed to a vacuum. This will be a major first for SpaceX, which has never attempted such a maneuver.

New equipment

In order to raise the level of risk and uncertainty even higher, SpaceX has planned to test new spacesuits for this mission. They have never been worn in space. Although the simulations are all excellent, this first exercise in a vacuum will be a leap into the unknown.

These many question marks do not seem to scare the four participants in this extraordinary mission. They are aware of making history, and seem ready to take risks, controlled and measured, to carry out this mission successfully.

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