Last September, US billionaire and commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman along with Hayley Arceneaux, Chris Sembroski and Sian Proctor made history by completing the world's first all-civilian mission to orbit Earth for three days.
Supported by Swiss watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen, the Inspiration4 mission was named in recognition of the four-person crew, who represented leadership, hope, generosity and prosperity.
Four space-themed IWC Pilot's Watch Chronograph Editions raised US$405,000 (15.4 million baht), and overall the philanthropic mission raised over $240 million for St Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
No earlier than March 2023, the Polaris Dawn crew led by Isaacman will board SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which will lift off from the historic Launch Complex 39A at Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They will spend up to five days in orbit and work on various objectives from the Dragon spacecraft, capable of carrying up to seven passengers.
Again it will be a four-person crew with retired US Air Force Lt Col Scott Poteet as the pilot, and SpaceX lead operations engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon as mission specialists.
IWC Schaffhausen continues to support the new mission, which is the first of three human spaceflights planned as part of the Polaris Program, whose space research also has applicability to improve life on Earth.
"The Polaris Program is an exciting next step in space missions to advance human space exploration while helping to solve problems through the use of innovative technology here on Earth," said Isaacman.
"On Polaris Dawn, we endeavour to achieve the highest Earth orbit ever flown in addition to conducting the world's first commercial spacewalk. Alongside these important objectives, we will be supporting scientific research to advance both human health on Earth and our understanding of human health during future long-duration space flights."
The goal is to travel to 1,400km and conduct research to better understand the effects of space flight and space radiation on human health.
At approximately 700km above the Earth, the crew will attempt the first-ever commercial extravehicular activity with SpaceX-designed EVA spacesuits.
This will be crucial steps towards a scalable design for spacesuits on future long-duration missions as well as for building a base on the Moon and a city on Mars.
The Polaris Dawn crew will also test Starlink laser-based communications, providing valuable data for future space communications system necessary for missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
To support this mission, IWC has designed four new space-themed timepieces. The Pilot's Watch Chronograph Edition Polaris Dawn is housed in a 44.5mm case made of white ceramic, whose colour results from a complex manufacturing process in which zirconium oxide is mixed with other metallic oxides in a precisely defined ratio and then sintered at high temperatures in a kiln.
The mission logo and countless stars twinkle on the dark blue lacquered dials. The titanium case backs are engraved with the name of one of the four crew members.
After the Polaris Dawn mission, the four timepieces will also be auctioned to raise funds for St Jude Children's Research Hospital, which develops treatments for childhood cancer and other paediatric diseases.
