SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, is set to launch a four-member crew on a groundbreaking polar orbit mission, backed by Chun Wang, the creator of the Bitcoin mining platform F2Pool.
A team of four is gearing up for a unique expedition into space, one that has never been attempted by humans: a flight that will take them directly over the North and South Poles. This mission, known as Fram2 and conducted by SpaceX, is financially supported by Chun Wang, a cryptocurrency investor based in Malta who accrued his wealth through Bitcoin (BTC) mining.
The crew, launching in a SpaceX capsule, consists of three adventurers met by Wang during polar expeditions: Norwegian filmmaker Jannicke Mikkelsen, German robotics researcher Rabea Rogge, and Australian explorer Eric Philips. This will be the first journey into space for each of them.
Scheduled to take off from Florida late Monday night at 9:46 p.m. ET, the mission will chart a course no human crew has ever traveled. Although some satellites utilize polar orbits for Earth observation, crewed missions typically adhere to paths nearer to the equator. Fram2 aims for a precise 90-degree inclination, taking it directly over both poles.
At one time, F2Pool was among the largest mining pools within the Bitcoin network, providing a significant share of the network’s hash rate.
However, as competition in the Bitcoin mining sector increased with the emergence of American and Russian miners, F2Pool’s influence has diminished. Currently, it represents just over 10% of Bitcoin’s total hash rate, according to data from Hashrate Index.
Mined over 7,000 BTC
The exact amount Chun invested in this multi-day journey remains unclear. In a 2022 interview, he mentioned that during F2Pool’s initial two years, he “personally mined 7,700 Bitcoin,” which, at the time of writing, holds an approximate value of $640 million, though he acknowledged selling all his early BTC mined.
“I sold all the Bitcoin from 2011 and 2012 in January 2013 and paid back my initial loan. I borrowed some money from my parents to build the first GPU configuration. I think the price I sold at was around $11.”
Chun Wang
This space mission presents multiple research opportunities. The crew will take part in studies regarding the impacts of space travel on the human body, focusing on aspects like brain fluid shifts and sleep disturbances. They will undergo MRI scans similar to those used in SpaceX’s upcoming Polaris Dawn mission in 2024.
The mission will also investigate space adaptation syndrome, a severe type of motion sickness experienced by astronauts, with over 60% reporting nausea in microgravity. Those suffering severe symptoms may require anti-nausea medications, which can induce grogginess. The Fram2 team hopes to aid in the development of more effective treatments.
Gender gap in space
In addition, the mission will conduct an experiment led by a British startup called Hormona, aimed at monitoring hormonal changes in female astronauts. Mikkelsen and Rogge will use urine test strips during the flight.
Jasmine Tagesson, co-founder of Hormona, shared in an interview that this flight could help address “a gender data gap in medicine,” as only about 15% of the 700-plus individuals who have traveled to space have been women. Dr. Jerilynn Prior, a medicine professor at the University of British Columbia, observed that stressors in space could affect ovulation, saying, “At the very least, the stress involved would likely shorten the luteal phase.”
Beyond medical research, Fram2 will conduct a variety of experiments, including cultivating mushrooms in space, assessing exercise routines in microgravity, and observing polar auroras from orbit.
Additionally, the crew will attempt to document “Steve,” a perplexing auroral phenomenon identified in 2016. Dr. Eric Donovan, a space physics expert at the University of Calgary, noted, “Taking photographs of aurora from space hasn’t been done extensively.”
The mission crew is anticipated to spend three to five days in orbit before ultimately returning to Earth with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.