Polaris Dawn Mission Successfully Completes World's First Private Spacewalk

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Polaris Dawn Mission is a privately funded and operated mission planned by Jared Isaacman with SpaceX.

Recently, Polaris Dawn has travelled through Earth’s regions of high radiation, i.e., South Atlantic Anomaly and Van Allen Radiation Belt, to study space radiation's impact on human health.

Van Allen Radiation Belt (Discovered in 1958 by astrophysicist James Van Allen)

Earth’s magnetosphere traps the high energy radiation particles and shields the Earth from solar storms and solar winds that can damage technology as well as people living on Earth.
- These trapped particles form two belts of radiation (inner and outer), known as Van Allen Belts, that surround the Earth.
  - Inner belt results from interactions of cosmic rays with Earth’s atmosphere and Outer belt is made up of billions of high-energy particles that originate from Sun.
Astronauts and spacecraft must fly through Van Allen Belts to reach outer space, so it is important to fly through this region quickly to limit their radiation exposure.
NASA plans to use its upcoming Artemis missions to send astronauts beyond Van Allen Radiation Belt to land on South Pole of Moon by end of 2025, and eventually on to Mars.

It is a geographical region over South Atlantic Ocean where inner Van Allen radiation belt extends down particularly close to Earth.
This leads to highly increased levels of ionizing radiation and related impacts on spacecraft in Low Earth Orbits, e.g., correspondingly increased radiation exposure of astronauts and electronic components on International Space Station.