SpaceX announced a new private crew mission aboard Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon that is slated to fly no earlier than late this year.

Called “Fram2”, the mission is named after the polar exploration ship Fram, a ship used in expeditions of the Arctic and Antarctic regions by the Norwegian explorers Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup, Oscar Wisting, and Roald Amundsen between 1893 and 1912. Fram is now housed in a museum in Oslo, and is held in high regard by many polar exploration explorers.

Fram2 will be going to space rather than onto the open ocean, of course, and during the upcoming mission, Mission Commander Chun Wang a Maltese citizen, will be joined by Norway’s Jannicke Mikkelsen acting as vehicle commander; Australia’s Eric Philips the vehicle pilot; and Germany’s Rabea Rogge, a mission specialist, will be aboard Falcon 9. None of the four have traveled to space to date.

Fram2’s Planned Mission

Their mission will be to examine “unusual light emissions resembling auroras. The crew will study green fragments and mauve ribbons of continuous emissions comparable to the phenomenon known as STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement), which has been measured at an altitude of approximately 400 – 500 km above Earth’s atmosphere.”

The SpaceX release also says that crewmembers will “to better understand the effects of spaceflight on the human body, which includes capturing the first human x-ray images in space, Just-in-Time training tools, and studying the effects of spaceflight on behavioral health,” all to inform long-term spaceflight such as the company’s stated goal of sending humans to Mars.

The launch will take place in Florida no earlier than late this year.

The original SpaceX announcement is here.