Four space tourists returned to Earth after orbiting the poles in a SpaceX Dragon capsule. Sponsored by Bitcoin investor Chun Wang, the trip included notable features like a domed window offering vast views. Their journey marked the first human spaceflight above the poles and featured the first Pacific splashdown in 50 years. The crew, which included individuals from varied backgrounds, experienced space motion sickness initially but recovered to conduct scientific experiments, including medical X-rays, showcasing the trip's unique combination of adventure and research.
"It is so epic because it is another kind of desert, so it just goes on and on and on all the way," Rogge said in a video posted by Wang on X while gazing down from orbit.
Besides documenting the poles from 270 miles (430 kilometers) up, Wang and his crew took the first medical X-rays in space as part of a test and conducted two dozen other science experiments.
The quartet, who rocketed from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Monday night, returned off the Southern California coast. It was the first human spaceflight to circle the globe above the poles and the first Pacific splashdown for a space crew in 50 years.
Chun Wang chartered a SpaceX flight for himself and three others in a Dragon capsule that was outfitted with a domed window that provided 360-degree views of the polar caps and everything in between.
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