Polaris Dawn Crew Meets NASA Apollo 16 Astronaut & Moonwalker Charlie Duke

Polaris Dawn Crew Meets NASA Apollo 16 Astronaut & Moonwalker Charlie Duke

The Polaris Dawn crew recently sat down with Apollo 16 astronaut and moonwalker Charlie Duke to talk about their missions and respective spacewalks at SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, California.

NASA Apollo Astronaut Charlie Duke Biography: 

https://www.nasa.gov/former-astronaut-charles-m-duke-jr/

Apollo 16 Moon Landing Mission: April 16-27, 1972

Three primary objectives of the Apollo 16 mission were (1) to inspect, survey, and sample materials and surface features at a selected landing site in the Descartes region; (2) emplace and activate surface experiments; and (3) conduct in-flight experiments and photographic tasks from lunar orbit. Additional objectives included performance of experiments requiring zero gravity and engineering evaluation of spacecraft and equipment.

Learn more about Apollo 16 Moon Mission: 

https://www.nasa.gov/mission/apollo-16/

Crew: NASA astronauts John W. Young, Charles M. Duke Jr., Thomas K. Mattingly II

SpaceX successfully launched the Polaris Dawn crew on a Falcon 9 rocket and specially-modified Crew Dragon spacecraft at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) on Merritt Island, Florida at 5:23 a.m. ET, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024.

Polaris Dawn Crew

Jared Isaacman - Mission Commander

Scott Poteet - Mission Pilot

Sarah Gillis - Mission Specialist

Anna Menon - Mission Specialist & Medical Officer

Polaris Dawn will travel to an altitude of 1,400 km, attempt the first commercial spacewalk from Dragon, test Starlink-laser based communications, and conduct a wide range of research in microgravity before returning to Earth and splashing down off the coast of Florida.

The Polaris Dawn Mission will fly a specially-modified SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft higher than any mission to date since the Apollo program, endeavoring to reach the highest Earth orbit ever flown at approximately 700 kilometers above the Earth. Orbiting through portions of the Van Allen radiation belt, Polaris Dawn will conduct research with the aim of better understanding the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health, while testing laser-based communications.

The Polaris Dawn crew is preparing for the mission’s "first commercial spacewalk". This extravehicular activity (EVA) will be the final test for SpaceX’s newly-developed EVA spacesuit.

"Completing the first commercial extravehicular activity in low-Earth orbit is an important first step towards a future where millions of humans are visiting, working, and living on the Moon, Mars, and other destinations in our solar system."

Learn more about the Polaris Program:

https://polarisprogram.com

Image Credit: SpaceX/Polaris Program

Image Date: Sept. 10, 2024

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