Facilitating Health Research Data Collection for the First Human Spaceflight to Earth’s Polar Regions – Fram2

Photo credit: SpaceX

The Fram2 mission, the first human spaceflight to explore Earth’s polar regions, launched on March 31st and splashed down safely on April 4, 2025. We are thrilled to announce that, in partnership with the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH), TrialX played a crucial role in facilitating health research data collection for this groundbreaking mission. Building on our experience in decentralized clinical research, we’re grateful for the opportunity to contribute to missions like Fram2, helping support health data collection efforts beyond Earth.

What is the Fram2 Mission?

Fram2 is the first polar-orbit human spaceflight mission designed to explore the polar regions of Earth from new heights. The mission was uniquely designed to honor the adventuring spirit of early polar explorers while reaching new milestones for technology, commercial space travel, and research.

The all-civilian crew consisted of Chun Wang, Jannicke Mikkelsen, Rabea Rogge, and Eric Philips. Over nearly four days orbiting the Poles, they conducted scientific research focused on observing aurora-like phenomena such as STEVE and green fragments, conducted human health experiments, including the first-ever X-ray of a human in space, and engaged in educational outreach through Amateur Radio SSTV image transmissions. The mission also featured Earth observation through Dragon’s cupola, previously seen in the Inspiration4 mission.

Named after the historic polar exploration ship Fram, this mission revolutionized human spaceflight by providing unprecedented insights into Earth’s polar environment from orbit.

TrialX’s Role in the Fram2 Mission

TrialX’s Remote Data Collection Platform enables clinical research investigators, participants, and research sites to conduct studies remotely. It facilitates data collection from various sources including electronic health records, wearable sensors, diagnostic images, biospecimen analysis, and qualitative survey responses.

For the Fram2 mission, TrialX enabled physiological data collection, including heart rate, heart rate variability, respiration rate, stress levels and SpO2 etc., from wearables like Garmin smartwatches and BioButton sensors.

TrialX’s Contributions to Space Health Research

In 2021, TrialX was selected by TRISH to develop the EXPAND database and biorepository, the first-of-its-kind repository designed to collect research, flight, and clinical data from commercial spaceflight missions. The database currently houses data from six missions, including Inspiration4, MS-20, Ax-1, Ax-2, Ax-3, and Polaris Dawn, providing a robust platform for integrating space health research across multiple studies. Demonstrated at NASA HRP IWS 2025 this January, it received significant interest as a crucial advancement for future human space missions. Our work in space health research has also been recognized in Nature, with two groundbreaking publications showcasing how remote research methodologies can benefit future space missions.

With the Fram2 mission now complete, we look forward to the critical insights it has generated and the contributions it will make to the future of space health research. 

#Fram2 #Spacemission #Remotedatacollection #Clinicalresearch