Private Polaris Dawn mission on SpaceX Dragon will capture crucial data for human spaceflight

Private Polaris Dawn mission on SpaceX Dragon will capture crucial data for human spaceflight

The first commercial spacewalk is slotted for the Polaris Dawn programme, which will see the SpaceX Dragon reaching its highest altitude orbit yet.

New Delhi: A specially modified SpaceX Dragon will be carrying four private astronauts to the highest altitude Earth orbit ever, at a height of 700 kilometres above the Earth. The crew will fly through portions of the Van Allen Belts, that capture energetic particles streaming out off the Sun as well as distant cosmic sources, protecting the Earth from harmful radiation. Only the 24 astronauts on NASA’s Apollo missions have ventured into a deep space environment, and the effects of cosmic rays on human health and well-being is not understood.

The commander of the Polaris Dawn porgramme is Jared Isaacman, a tech entrepreneur who was also the commander of the Inspiration 4 mission. Data captured during the mission was used for a number of scientific studies, including the dramatic findings that human kidneys may not survive a return journey to Mars. The Polaris Programme is collaborating closely with over 25 research institutions around the world for specific studies during the Polaris Dawn programme.

The bone and muscle health of the astronauts will be closely monitored in space, along with the physiological influence of spaceflight on cellular and molecular scales. A number of theories on astronaut help and responses to living in microgravity environments will also be tested. The Polaris Dawn mission is expected to provide valuable scientific data to help guide the future of human spaceflight.

The first commercial spacewalk

An extra vehicular activity or spacewalk is also planned over the course of the first of at least three Polaris Dawn missions. The SpaceX Dragon was not originally built to support such EVAs, but the docking port has been modified to allow the spacewalk. The entire crew module will be depressurised during the spacewalk. The astronauts will use specially designed SpaceX EVA suits, that are modified versions of the intravehicular activity (IVA) suits used by astronauts on the SpaceX commercial crew rotations to the International Space Station.