Meet the NASA Scientists Flying aboard SpaceX's Polaris Dawn Private Astronaut Mission

Polaris Dawn may be a private mission, but it is conducting research that will benefit NASA.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasted off early Tuesday morning (Sept. 10), sending four people into orbit for a roughly five-day stay aboard the Crew Dragon capsule “Resilience.” The mission aims to make exploration history by conducting the first-ever private spacewalk and traveling farther from Earth than any other human spaceflight since the Apollo era.

But Polaris Dawn is also a science mission: It carries 36 different experiments from 31 institutions, including a number that will collect data for NASA’s Human Research Program. (The agency partners with SpaceX on cargo and crew missions to the International Space Station, but Polaris Dawn is not part of those flights; it is funded and commanded by billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, and it is flying solo around Earth, without going to the ISS.)

The NASA-affiliated experiments are designed to help agency scientists better understand the impacts of spaceflight on the human body — information that should aid future crewed exploration efforts.

“Each mission, whether crewed by commercial or NASA astronauts, provides a unique opportunity to further our understanding of how spaceflight affects human health,” Jancy McPhee, NASA’s deputy chief scientist for human research, said in a statement. “The information gathered by Polaris Dawn will provide critical insights to help NASA plan deeper space travel to the Moon and Mars.”

For example, the Polaris Dawn crew — Isaacman, pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet and mission specialists Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon — “will conduct a test drive “a commercial device capable of collecting and integrating health measurements, including blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate and temperature,” according to the NASA statement.

The device also captures ultrasound images and has an “experimental telemedicine feature” that could help diagnose astronauts’ health problems in near real time.

“Crew members will need to be more self-sufficient on long-duration missions, and we hope that telemedicine can provide some assistance to crews,” McPhee said.

Another Polaris Dawn project aims to highlight and alleviate the problems of motion sickness that can affect astronauts. Another project will involve interviewing crew members about their experiences during re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, with the aim of making the process as smooth and trouble-free as possible.

Additionally, Polaris Dawn astronauts will participate in various studies organized by the Translational Research Institute for Health (TRISH), a NASA-funded consortium of academic institutions.

“Polaris Dawn crew members participating in these TRISH studies will provide data on how spaceflight affects mental and physical health through a rigorous series of medical tests and examinations conducted before, after and during the mission,” NASA’s statement reads. “The work will include assessments of behavior, sleep, bone density, eye health, cognitive function and other factors, as well as blood, urine and breathing tests.”

You can also learn more about the Polaris Dawn experiments through the mission website.