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Fram2 passengers take their first pictures of Earth’s polar regions

The Arctic as seen from Fram2

SpaceX yesterday released a short video of the first pictures of the Earth’s polar regions taken by its Fram2 passengers on the capsule Resilience.

The picture to the right is a screen capture from that film, looking out the capsule’s large cupola window in its nose. The capsule’s nosecone can be seen at the bottom, having hinged sideways out of the way during orbital operations.

The tweet provided little information about the images. For example, it did not say which pole was imaged. Since the ground and ice below is dark, we are likely looking at the north pole, which at this time of year is mostly in shadow. You can see what looks like the edge of the ice pack, partly hidden by clouds.

The flight is scheduled to last from three to five days, and is presently in its second day. Not much information from the crew in orbit has at this point been released. I suspect they are simply enjoying their experience in private, since they are not obligated to share it with the world.

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8 comments

  • Andi

    Since we’re past the vernal equinox, albeit not by much, wouldn’t it be more likely to be the south pole?

  • Ray Van Dune

    Yes, and I also think it’s the South Pole because the North Pole has been ice-free for decades now, according to no less an authority than the great Al Gore himself!

  • Richard M

    Not much information from the crew in orbit has at this point been released.

    Apparently they all had some serious space adaptation syndrome on Day One. That was why they delayed opening the hatch to the cupola. Hey: It can happen to anyone (just ask Frank Borman!*).

    https://x.com/satofishi/status/1907286344168276215
    __

    * Yes, I know, Frank is no longer with us. (R.I.P.) But you can read about it in Bob’s book!

  • wayne

    Richard–
    So, they got sick?
    I’m glad you brought that up, I never hear about this anymore. Need to go on a deep dive later. (This is apparently well researched!)

    Can’t find the Video Clip I want, it exists but I can’t find it.
    -One of the Apollo astronauts talking about taking “Scopolamine & Dexedrine” for motion sickness in space.

    “Scopadex” = 25 mg of Scopolamine hydrobromide with 5 mg of Dexamphetamine.

  • Stan Witherspoon

    I’m confused. It looks like we are looking at the cupola from a camera on the nosecone with the south? Pole in the background,
    . The view is similar to the ones for the spacewalk mission but with the cupola bubble replaced by a railing.
    I really enjoy your site. Thanks stan

  • Richard M

    Wayne,

    Yeah. Chun talks about it in that tweet I linked. Sounds like all four of them got hit hard.

    But they appear to be much better today.

    The informal scale for space nausea in the NASA astronaut corps is a “Garn,” named after Senator Jake Garn, who spent pretty much all of his 1985 Shuttle mission as a floating vomit ball. “One Garn” means you maxed out. I wonder how the Fram2 crew feels they measured on the Garn scale?

    But it looks like unlike Garn, they aren’t spending the whole mission in that state.

  • Richard M

    Stan,

    Yeah, the nose cap is on a hinge, and is pulled back while they are in orbit. It has a camera on the far edge, and that’s where a lot of our Fram2 shots are coming from.

  • wayne

    Richard M-
    Again, glad you brought this up. The only thing I ever really knew about it was that a large percentage of people experienced effects and pharmaceuticals were utilized.
    I just never hear of this anymore.

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