SpaceX Polaris Dawn amateur astronauts returned to Earth: the main facts about the historic spacewalk, which has already been called "action"

The historic mission of SpaceX astronauts, which ended on September 15, landed safely in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida. Polaris Dawn, along with four amateur astronauts, made history with several records.

Experts emphasize that the five-day mission flight contained a lot of action. It also accomplished a number of important scientific and educational tasks, Space.com reports.

"Polaris Dawn, we have accomplished the mission. Thank you for your great help in putting this mission together," said crew chief and Polaris sponsor Jared Isaacman after the Dragon capsule and its team of astronauts splashed into the ocean.

Elon Musk's historic SpaceX mission sent four amateur astronauts into space on September 10. Polaris Dawn was funded and led by billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacson. He took his longtime friend, former US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Scott Potit, who became a Polaris Dawn pilot, along for the ride. They were joined by SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon.

It was the first space experience for Potit, Gillis, and Menon. But Isaacson was already in orbit in September 2021 as part of the pioneering SpaceX Inspiration4 mission.

Mission records

From day one, Polaris Dawn made history. After all, the Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft reached a record altitude for an orbit around the Earth - more than 1,400 kilometers - higher than any orbiting Earth spacecraft with a crew. It is also three times higher than the height of the International Space Station (ISS).

Polaris Dawn broke the altitude record of 1372 km, which was set back in 1966 by the Gemini 11 mission.

The Polaris mission also made spaceflight history because Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon plunged deeper into the void of space than any women before. After all, all the Apollo astronauts were men.

Resilience then lowered its orbit to about 730 kilometers to prepare for the most crucial moment of the mission - spacewalking. Despite the fact that only two astronauts were to exit the capsule, all crew members underwent special breathing procedures and also donned new SpaceX EVA suits that the company developed specifically for Polaris Dawn. Since Resilience does not have an airlock, when its hatch opened, the entire team felt the effects of the dangerous space vacuum.

An important moment came on Thursday morning (September 12), when Jared Isaacson climbed up to the special Skywalker platform and saw the beauty of the Universe. "At home we have a lot of work to do, but from here the Earth looks like a perfect world," he said, looking at our planet from the vastness of space.

Thus, Polaris Dawn has achieved another record. According to SpaceX, mission commander Isaacson became the first non-professional astronaut in history to enter the space vacuum.

After Jared, mission specialist Sarah Gillis stepped out of the capsule. Like Isaacson, she performed a set of pre-planned movements designed to test the capabilities of the new EVA suit.

After all, the main purpose of this operation was to test SpaceX's latest suits, which the company hopes to use in many other missions to Earth orbit and to the Moon and Mars.

Science experiments and technical tests

Although spacewalking was the main event, Polaris Dawn crew members performed a number of other tasks during the five days in orbit.

In particular, the mission conducted 36 scientific experiments for 31 different institutions. Much of the on-orbit work will benefit NASA's Human Exploration Program, which seeks to learn more about how spaceflight affects the body and mind and how such effects can be mitigated.

"The information gathered from Polaris Dawn will give us important insights that will help NASA plan for deeper space travel to the Moon and Mars," said NASA Associate Principal Investigator for Human Exploration Jensi McPhee.

Polaris Dawn also tested the laser communications capabilities of SpaceX's Starlink broadband mega constellation, using satellites to transmit home photos and other data packages.

Astronauts have also done some cultural and financial work. For example, Anna Menon held an orbital reading of the children's book Kisses from Space. According to SpaceX, the proceeds from the sale of this book will go to St. Jude Children's Hospital in Memphis.

And Sarah Gillis on board Resilience played a Star Wars song on the violin. Her performance was synchronized with orchestras around the world for a music video created by the Polaris Dawn team.

Polaris Dawn was the first of three planned missions funded and organized by Jared Isaacson. The billionaire emphasized that "Polaris is committed to demonstrating important operational capabilities that will serve as building blocks for further human exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond."

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