Polaris Dawn: Pioneering Private Citizens Set to Make History with Spacewalk
On Tuesday morning, a SpaceX capsule carrying four private citizens lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, embarking on a five-day mission known as Polaris Dawn. If all goes according to plan, these individuals will become the first non-astronauts to conduct a spacewalk, also known as Extravehicular Activity (EVA).
The crew consists of 41-year-old billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, who has personally financed much of the mission, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Scott 'Kidd' Poteet, and SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon.
Historically, performing an EVA has been limited to a select few, including NASA astronauts and those from the European Space Agency, Canada, Russia, and China. Notable EVAs have primarily included activities related to the construction and maintenance of space stations that have been built over time around Earth.
Polaris Dawn not only aims to break new ground for private citizens in space but is also expected to be the first crewed mission to venture this far from Earth since Apollo 17 in 1972, which was the last mission of the US lunar program reaching the Moon. This mission will bring the crew nearly 1,400 kilometers closer to Earth.
Originally, Polaris Dawn was planned for a late August launch; however, it faced setbacks due to a helium leak detected on the launch pad and adverse weather conditions off the coast of Florida, where the capsule is expected to return at the end of its mission. The highly anticipated spacewalk is scheduled for the third day of the mission, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of space travel and exploration.
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