Private SpaceX Fram2 mission ready for world's 1st crewed flight over Earth's polar regions (photos)

Four humans in white space suits post in front of a white wall with line drawings of a spaceship.

SpaceX's mission to launch the first astronauts into polar orbit is quickly approaching.

Named for the Norwegian seafaring ship Fram, which completed expeditions of the Arctic and Antarctic regions between 1893 and 1912, Fram2 will ferry a crew of four into a 90-degree orbit that will fly them over Earth's North and South Poles. The private crew will be the first to fly in space in such a steep orbital inclination, and will have the opportunity to study the planet's most remote regions from a completely novel perspective.