USA Mission for humanity - "Polaris Dawn" launched

Four astronauts have embarked on a risky mission. The privately financed "Polaris Dawn" project will take them up to 1,400 kilometers away from Earth.

According to the aerospace company SpaceX, this is the greatest distance between humans and Earth since the last Apollo missions to the moon in the early 1970s. By comparison, the ISS space station is located at an altitude of around 400 kilometers.

Billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman is leading the mission, which will last up to five days, in coordination with SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who will remain on the ground. With Isaacman, private astronauts Kidd Poteet, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon lifted off from Cape Canaveral Spaceport on the west coast of Florida aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft with a Falcon 9 rocket.

After around twelve minutes, the last rocket stage finally docked from the Dragon capsule at an altitude of 215 kilometers above the Earth at a speed of almost 28,000 kilometers per hour - in SpaceX's livestream, the spacecraft glided weightlessly over the Earth's sphere in front of the radiant sun.

A journey "for all of humanity"

"Today you are embarking on a journey that is not just for you, but for all of humanity," said launch manager Frank Messina to the crew, according to the space company. "As you look to the North Star, remember that your courage will light the way for future explorers. We trust that your skills, bravery and teamwork will accomplish the mission ahead."

"Message received," came the reply - presumably from Commander Isaacman, who thanked him for the kind words. "We appreciate it and will get to work now." The approximately eight by four meter capsule of a Crew Dragon can accommodate up to seven people for up to ten days. People sleep in the seats and the toilet is behind a curtain.

Outdoor mission at an altitude of 700 kilometers

During the mission, the astronauts are scheduled to perform an outdoor mission at an altitude of around 700 kilometers, during which the private space company wants to test a new space suit for outdoor missions.

During the "first commercial spacewalk" - as it says on the project's website - the suit should ensure greater mobility than previous suits. It also features a display built into the helmet, a camera and new materials for better heat regulation in freezing cold space.

Risky test

Astronauts are exposed to greater danger on space missions than in spaceships. Orientation in weightlessness is challenging, and the equipment must also compensate for extreme temperature fluctuations, provide oxygen and protect against radiation in space. Life-threatening situations can arise if the oxygen supply is disrupted or an astronaut becomes separated from the spacecraft. Maintenance work or experiments are normally carried out during space missions, for example on the ISS. They are considered crucial for the success of missions to the moon and Mars.

SpaceX wants to test the suits for future missions to the moon and Mars. The private astronauts will also carry out experiments, for example on the effects of space flight and space radiation on human health. A laser-based communication technology for the satellite-based internet program Starlink is also to be tested.

Preparing for Mars

The launch of "Polaris Dawn" was postponed several times due to unfavorable weather conditions. Most recently, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also temporarily withdrew the Falcon 9's launch permit due to an incident during an earlier launch.

"Building a base on the moon and a city on Mars will require millions of spacesuits," said the project planners. "Developing this suit and conducting the spacewalk will be important steps towards a scalable spacesuit design for future long-duration missions as life becomes multi-planetary." A colony on Mars - that is the long-term goal of the US space agency NASA. With the "Artemis" program, however, it first wants to put humans back on the moon - for the first time in more than half a century. A base on the Earth's satellite is to form the basis for missions to Mars.

However, NASA has just had to postpone the manned moon orbit planned for November 2024 as part of "Artemis 2" to September 2025 due to problems with the rocket and spacecraft, and the planned manned moon landing "Artemis 3" to September 2026.

Launch to Mars in 2026 - according to Musk

However, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk still wants to embark on the long journey to Mars the year after next - albeit without astronauts for the time being. "The first spacecraft to Mars will launch in two years when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens," the billionaire wrote on his X platform at the weekend. The aim is to test the reliability of landings on the planet.

"If these landings go well, the first manned flights to Mars will take place in four years," he continued. Musk assumes that a self-sufficient city on Mars will be possible in 20 years.