Four astronauts conducted the first private spacewalk as part of the Polaris Dawn mission, using SpaceX's newly designed EVA suits. This marks a major milestone in commercial space exploration with innovative equipment and procedures. (Image credits: SpaceX)
The spacewalk marked the debut of SpaceX ever extravehicular activity (EVA) suit. According to SpaceX, the suits will help scale spacesuit designs for long-duration missions, including lunar bases and potential Mars colonization. (Image credits: SpaceX)
To avoid decompression sickness, the crew underwent a "prebreathe" process to remove nitrogen from their bloodstream. Due to the absence of an airlock in Dragon, the entire crew was briefly exposed to space’s vacuum during the spacewalk. (Image credits: SpaceX)
The mission reached 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) in altitude, surpassing the International Space Station's orbit by more than three times. This placed the crew in the inner Van Allen radiation belt, exposing them to higher radiation levels. (Image credits: SpaceX)
The SpaceX EVA suits feature advanced technologies like heads-up displays, helmet cameras, and improved joint mobility, ensuring better astronaut performance in challenging space environments. (Image credits: SpaceX)
The mission includes a highly skilled crew: former US Air Force lieutenant colonel Scott Poteet, SpaceX engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis, specializing in space operations and astronaut training, respectively, bringing expertise to the mission. (Image credits: SpaceX)
Jared Isaacman, founder of Shift4 Payments, leads and finances the Polaris Dawn mission. This marks his second space journey, following a previous mission in 2021 where he spent three days orbiting Earth. (Image credits: SpaceX)
Polaris Dawn is the first of three missions in the Polaris program, a collaboration between Isaacman and SpaceX. The final mission aims to achieve the first crewed flight of SpaceX’s Starship, key to Elon Musk's vision of Mars colonization. (Image credits: SpaceX)