Watch alien images from the Polaris Dawn mission

SpaceX has shared some stunning images captured from a Crew Dragon spacecraft during the recent Polaris Dawn mission.

The video (below) was recorded by an external camera from an altitude of about 450 miles (730 kilometers) during the spacecraft’s 75 Earth orbits during the historic five-day mission.

“It looks like CGI, but this is all video footage from the Polaris space mission,” SpaceX chief Elon Musk said in a social media post.

Views from Dragon in Flight

During its five-day mission, Dragon and the Polaris Dawn crew completed 75 orbits around Earth pic.twitter.com/NzIFElzXAm

– SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 27, 2024

The footage is dramatically different from that beamed back from the International Space Station (ISS) because the station’s orbit is much closer to Earth, about 250 miles. Therefore, Crew Dragon’s higher orbit gives us a much wider perspective, with the curvature of the Earth much more prominent.

The same camera was used to record the first commercial spacewalk, which was performed by Polaris Dawn crew member Jared Isaacman, the man who funded a civilian mission. Following Isaacman, fellow crew member Sarah Gillis became the first woman to conduct a commercial spacewalk. The event also marked the first time anyone has exited the Crew Dragon spacecraft into the vacuum of space. The primary purpose of the spacewalk was to test a new spacesuit that offers greater mobility and comfort than current designs used for such endeavors. It is expected that a version of the suit will be used for future missions to the Moon and possibly beyond.

Isaacman and Gillis were accompanied by Scott Poteet and Anna Menon. While Isaacman had been in orbit before — as part of the privately funded Inspiration4 mission in 2021 — his three fellow crew members were on their first journey into space.

During the flight, the four amateur astronauts traveled farther from Earth — 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) — than anyone since the Apollo missions five decades ago. The crew also tested a laser-based communications system and conducted scientific experiments that included research on human health and performance for NASA’s Human Research Program.

Crew Dragon and its occupants returned safely to Earth on September 15, with the journey home captured in a stunning photo taken by NASA astronaut Don Pettit aboard the ISS.