American space exploration technology company's "private" astronaut team on the 4th concluded the world's first crewed polar orbit flight mission, returning to Earth aboard the "Dragon" spacecraft.
After completing about four days of orbital flight, the astronaut team returned to Earth at 9:19 AM Western U.S. time on the 4th (12:19 AM Malaysian time on the 5th), splashing down near the coast of California. This marks the company's first manned spacecraft splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
The "Fram2" mission was executed by four astronauts: the mission commander Wong Chun (phonetic) from Malta, spacecraft commander Mikkelsen from Norway, mission pilot Roger from Germany, and mission specialist and medical officer Phillips from Australia. This was the first space flight mission for all four astronauts.
The team launched aboard the "Dragon" spacecraft on March 31st from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sent the spacecraft into a polar orbit with an inclination of 90 degrees. The astronauts flew over the Earth's poles, observing and exploring them from an altitude of about 430 kilometers, and researching the impact of space environment on human health.
During the mission, the team conducted 22 experiments, including the first space-based X-ray imaging of the human body and the first attempt to grow mushrooms in space. The astronauts also used wearable devices to monitor sleep, stress, hormone levels, and blood sugar during the mission, studying the effects of space flight and microgravity on human health.
Upon safely returning to Earth, the astronaut team exited the spacecraft without additional medical or operational team assistance, to help study astronauts' ability to function independently after completing space missions.