In contrast, the Fram2 mission's 90-degree inclination means it will pass directly over both the North and South Poles. This path provides comprehensive coverage of Earth's surface, enabling observations of regions and phenomena not accessible to other missions.

Fram2 will send four people from four different nations to low Earth orbit for three to five days. Those crewmembers — all of them spaceflight rookies — are mission commander Chun Wang of Malta, vehicle commander Jannicke Mikkelsen of Norway, pilot Rabea Rogge of Germany, and Australian Eric Phillips, Fram2's medical officer and mission specialist.

A four-member crew, including NASA astronauts Sunita "Suni" Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore, left the ISS early Tuesday on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.