The Fram2 mission, paid for and led by a cryptocurrency billionaire who is flying with three guests, is on track to return after a journey on a unprecedented polar orbit.

After splashdown, the crew will attempt to exit the vehicle without assistance to assess their physical capabilities.

Fram2 will be the company's first astronaut mission to land in the Pacific Ocean. Its predecessors all splashed down off Florida, but SpaceX is now shifting returns to the West Coast to minimize the chance that chunks of Crew Dragon's expendable trunk could damage property or hurt people during reentry.

After years of NASA and private crews returning to Earth near Florida, the company shifted its landing zone to the West Coast for the private Fram2 mission.

SpaceX's Fram2 astronauts returned to Earth with a splashdown off California's coast after spending nearly four days flying in a polar orbit to explore the Earth’s polar regions for the first time. The mission was the first human spaceflight for Mission Commander Chun Wang,

The crew of four astronauts flew in a polar orbit for nearly four days to explore the Earth’s polar regions for the first time.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off on Monday night, sending four amateur astronauts on an unprecedented journey around Earth’s poles. The mission is traveling where no crew has gone before, and SpaceX just revealed the first views of the planet’s chilly polar regions from above.

Cryptocurrency billionaire Chun Wang financed and led the pioneering mission, which launched late Monday from Florida on a southern trajectory. Joining Wang for the voyage was Norwegian filmmaker Jannicke Mikkelsen,