Private Space Mission Completes Historic Polar Orbit With Pacific Splashdown

This splashdown is the first time humans have returned from space to the Pacific Ocean since 1975.

(L–R) Eric Philips, a polar guide from Australia; Rabea Rogge, a robotics researcher from Germany; Norwegian filmmaker Jannicke Mikkelsen and Chun Wang, a Chinese-born bitcoin investor who is paying for the whole spaceflight and now lives in Malta. SpaceX via AP

Four space tourists returned to Earth on April 4, concluding their journey as the first private crew to orbit the planet’s poles. The crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off Southern California’s coast, marking the end of their self-funded expedition that provided unprecedented views of the Earth.

Bitcoin investor Chun Wang, who chartered the SpaceX Dragon capsule for the three-and-a-half day mission, led an international team that included Norwegian filmmaker Jannicke Mikkelsen, German robotics researcher Rabea Rogge, and Australian polar guide Eric Philips.