A spacewalk 1,400 km above Earth must feel absolutely surreal.
After navigating technical issues and weather challenges, SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn has successfully transported four crew members to the farthest distance from Earth since NASA’s historic Apollo 11 moon landing. Powered by the Falcon 9 rocket, the mission reached low-Earth orbit, traveling 1,400 km above the planet.
Elon Musk celebrated the milestone with a post on X, sharing a short poem: “Strive to greater heights,
For a future brighter than the past,
Waking up each morning inspired,
To learn new secrets of the Universe!”
The multi-day mission includes a scheduled spacewalk on Thursday, September 12 (Flight Day 3). The Polaris Dawn crew—Jared Isaacman, Scott “Kidd” Poteet, Sarah Gillis, and Anna Menon—will participate in the first-ever all-private spacewalk, wearing SpaceX-designed extravehicular activity suits.
Jancy McPhee, associate chief scientist for human research at NASA, highlighted the importance of the mission: “Each mission, whether crewed by commercial or NASA astronauts, offers a valuable opportunity to expand our understanding of how spaceflight affects human health. The insights from Polaris Dawn will be crucial as NASA plans for deeper space exploration, including missions to the Moon and Mars.”
As part of NASA’s Human Research Program, astronauts will also test a new device that collects critical health data, such as blood pressure, heart rate, respiration, and temperature, providing essential information on how space conditions impact the human body.