The Blue Marble
The Blue Marble
Cinematographer and host of eCo: Svalbard project Jannicke Mikkelsen is embarking on her next big adventure as an astronaut on the Fram2 space mission, the first human spaceflight to fly over both polar regions.
We are very excited to have the unique opportunity to send five video questions from primary and secondary schools to Jannicke, who will answer them while in space! The crew will film Jannicke next to a digital tablet which will play the pre-recorded questions, so the children will see themselves floating in Space!
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Why Blue Marble?
We have named this project The Blue Marble in homage to the photograph of the same name. This picture of Earth was taken by NASA astronauts on December 7 1972, from the Apollo 17 spacecraft while on its way to the Moon. Viewed from around 29,400 km (18,300 mi) from Earth's surface, it has become one of the most reproduced images in history.
About the mission
Image courtesy of SpaceX and FRAM2
The crew of the Fram2 mission. From left to right: Mission Specialist Rabea Rogge, Vehicle Pilot Eric Philips, Vehicle Commander Jannicke Mikkelsen and Mission Commander Chun Wang.
FRAM2 will be the first human spaceflight to explore Earth from Space flying over the North and South Pole. It will launch from Florida into a 90° circular orbit around Earth at an altitude of 425-450km.
The North and South Poles are invisible to astronauts on the International Space Station, as well as to all previous human spaceflight missions except for the Apollo lunar missions but only from far away. To date, the highest inclination achieved by human spaceflight has been the Soviet Vostok 6 mission, at 65°. This new flight trajectory will unlock new possibilities for human spaceflight.
The crew plans to observe Earth’s polar regions at an altitude of 425–450 km. At this altitude, they will fly from the North Pole to the South Pole in just 46 minutes and 40 seconds, exactly 30 times faster than the One More Orbit mission did in 2019, when crew member Jannicke Mikkelsen and her team circumnavigated the Earth in a Gulfstream G650ER and set the Guinness World Record.
Throughout the 3-to-5-day mission, the crew plans to observe Earth’s polar wilderness through Dragon’s cupola, leveraging insights from space physicists and citizen scientists to study unusual light emissions resembling auroras.
The crew will study green fragments and mauve ribbons of continuous emissions comparable to the phenomenon known as STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement), which has been measured at an altitude of approximately 400–500 km above Earth’s atmosphere.
The crew will also conduct a variety of research to better understand the effects of spaceflight on the human body and developing tools to prepare humanity for future long-duration spaceflight, from capturing the first human x-ray images in space to Just-in-Time training tools to the effects of spaceflight on behavioural health.
About Jannicke
Jannicke is a film director and cinematographer living on Svalbard, specializing in fringe-technology, creating next-generation technology for movies shot in remote and hazardous environments such as the Arctic, ocean, aviation, and space. In 2019, Jannicke served as Payload Specialist on the record-breaking polar circumnavigation flight One More Orbit mission in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11.
As a filmmaker, I have long dreamed of the day sci-fi movies would become reality. Now, a new space age is upon us. People like you and me have specialised knowledge and skills valuable to space missions. It is our time to become astronauts and explore beyond Earth.
Jannicke Mikkelsen
