Mission for humanity – «Polaris Dawn» launched

Cape Canaveral (dpa) – Four astronauts have embarked on a risky mission. The privately financed “Polaris Dawn” project will take them up to 1,400 kilometers away from Earth. According to the space company SpaceX, this will be the greatest distance humans have traveled from Earth since the last Apollo missions to the moon in the early 1970s. For comparison: the ISS space station is at an altitude of around 400 kilometers.

Billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman is leading the mission, which will last up to five days, in coordination with SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who will remain on the ground. Isaacman was joined by private astronauts Kidd Poteet, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, who took off on board a Crew Dragon spacecraft with a Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral spaceport on the west coast of Florida.

After about twelve minutes, the last rocket stage finally docked from the Dragon capsule at a height of 215 kilometers above the earth at a speed of almost 28,000 kilometers per hour – in the SpaceX livestream, the spacecraft glided weightlessly over the globe in front of the shining sun.

A journey “for all of humanity”

“Today you embark on a journey not just for yourself, but for all of humanity,” launch manager Frank Messina told the crew, according to the space company. “As you look toward the North Star, remember that your courage lights the way for future explorers. We trust that your skills, bravery and teamwork will carry you through the next mission.”

“Message received,” came the reply – presumably from Commander Isaacman, who thanked them for the kind words. “We appreciate it and are now getting to work.” The Crew Dragon capsule, which is about eight by four meters in size, can accommodate up to seven people for up to ten days. They sleep in the seats, and the toilet is behind a curtain.

Outdoor use at an altitude of 700 kilometers

During the mission, the astronauts will conduct an extravehicular activity at an altitude of about 700 kilometers, during which the private space company will test a new space suit for extravehicular activities.

During the “first commercial spacewalk” – as it says on the project’s website – the suit is intended to ensure greater mobility than previous suits. In addition, it offers a display built into the helmet, a camera and new materials for better heat regulation in the icy cold of space.

Risky test

Astronauts are exposed to greater danger during external missions than in spaceships. Orientation in weightlessness is challenging, and the equipment must compensate for extreme temperature fluctuations, provide oxygen and protect against radiation in space. It can be life-threatening if the oxygen supply is disrupted or an astronaut is separated from the spaceship. Maintenance work or experiments are usually carried out during external missions, for example on the ISS. They are considered crucial to the success of missions to the moon and Mars.

SpaceX will test the suits for future missions to the moon and Mars. The private astronauts will also conduct experiments, for example on the effects of space flight and space radiation on human health. A laser-based communication technology from the satellite-based internet program Starlink will also be tested.

Preparing for Mars

The launch of “Polaris Dawn” had been postponed several times due to unfavorable weather. Most recently, the US aviation authority FAA had temporarily revoked the Falcon 9’s takeoff clearance due to an incident during an earlier launch.

“Millions of spacesuits will be needed to build a base on the Moon and a city on Mars,” project planners said. “Developing this suit and conducting the spacewalk will be important steps toward a scalable spacesuit design for future long-duration missions as life becomes multiplanetary.”

A colony on Mars – that is the long-term goal of the US space agency NASA. With the “Artemis” program, however, it wants to first bring people back to the moon – and for the first time in more than half a century. A base on the Earth’s satellite should form the basis for missions to Mars.

However, NASA had to postpone the manned moon landing planned for November 2024 as part of “Artemis 2” to September 2025 due to problems with the rocket and spacecraft, and the planned manned moon landing “Artemis 3” to September 2026.

Launch to Mars in 2026 – according to Musk

SpaceX boss Elon Musk will still embark on the long journey to Mars next year – albeit initially without astronauts. “The first spaceships to Mars will launch in two years, when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens,” the billionaire wrote on his platform X at the weekend. This is intended to test the reliability of landings on the planet.

“If these landings go well, the first manned flights to Mars will take place in four years,” he continued. Musk believes that a self-sufficient city on Mars will be possible in 20 years.