The Polaris Dawn mission has been attracting lots of attention because it will feature the first ever spacewalk by commercial space travellers. There are many reasons why this is a landmark mission. But, with its ambition comes a degree of risk.
The mission is backed by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX and there are no professional astronauts among the crew. Flying aboard the mission is a businessman, a fighter pilot and two SpaceX employees. The mission represents an emerging parallel track in orbital spaceflight which is privately funded compared to the upcoming government-backed US Artemis missions to return humans to the Moon.
