– I hope I get time to understand what I am involved in. Sit in front of the window, look down and understand how small my problems are. I can’t wait to come back and tell you what impressions it has made. That’s what photographer Jannicke Mikkelsen says, who will be the first Norwegian woman to become an astronaut. Norwegian Jannicke Mikkelsen has already set a world record for the fastest flight around the world. Now she’s going to space to do something no one has done before her. Photo: Tore Linvollen / news Much of what she will soon be involved in is still a secret. But not everything. They get a packed program during the four days they are in space. In the footsteps of the polar explorers, Mikkelsen will fly over and film the polar regions from space, together with the private, American space company SpaceX, which is owned by Tesla founder Elon Musk. The company carried out a historic space walk on Thursday, when two privately funded astronauts were on the outside of the Dragon spacecraft. Mikkelsen and three others will also make history, as they will travel in polar orbit around the earth. The name of the mission is “Fram2”, after the ship that Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen used to explore the North and South Poles. “Fram” was the name of the schooner used by Fridtjof Nansen and his crew on the journey to the North Pole 1893–1895. Photo: Frammuseet / news – We will take polar history into space with us. And we will extend it. I bring the cameras with me to give new context to the data we get from satellites. And it’s quite exciting, says Mikkelsen. It is a childhood dream come true for her. But she thinks it’s scary to be compared to two of her great polar heroes. – I think it is very big. But it has begun to dawn on me that there is a historical buzz about it, says Mikkelsen. A strange, white aurora The astronauts have several research missions when they are up there. They will also research how the human body behaves as it transitions into weightlessness. And the Svalbard-based photographer will travel to the Northern Lights. She will take a picture of the northern lights from above. These images will be used by researcher Katie Herlingshaw at UNIS – the University Center in Svalbard. Katie Herlingshaw is researching a special type of aurora that has been discovered in recent years, which can cause problems for communication via satellite. Photo: Tore Linvollen / news – There are some strange, white northern lights that have been discovered in recent years. We will find out how tall they are and what their 3D structures are, says Herlingshaw. The white northern lights can cause problems for the communication and navigation of satellites. – We want to know what causes it, so we can find out how to prevent it. Herlingshaw also wants to receive aurora photos taken by people on the globe, to be able to compare the images. A bird’s-eye view of life and climate change There is a tight schedule in space, with, among other things, eight hours of sleep and eight hours of research. Although Mikkelsen is involved in driving innovation in filming and photography, she is also responsible for the vessel and the rest of the crew. She will be sitting in the dome a lot. But because a 180-degree window will be inserted there, she will get a first-class view when the spaceship is pointing down towards Earth. She will also get a bird’s-eye view of climate change in the Arctic. As a Svalbardian, she is keen to convey just that. – I see a marked difference from year to year. I hope the perspective from space will help us to understand how fragile the world is, and what measures we must take to look after it, says Mikkelsen. – Not just for us in Norway, but for people around the entire planet. Jannicke Mikkelsen on the ship “Fram”, after which her expedition is named. Photo: Tore Linvollen / news Issues in the polar regions Director of the Fram museum, Geir Kløver, thinks he himself will get little sleep during Jannicke Mikkelsen’s trip. He thinks it is exciting to draw the thread from Fridtjof Nansen, the godfather of polar research, to what is happening today. Hurricanes, Russia building up on Franz Josef Land, ice melting, polar bears disappearing and villages in Alaska ending up in the sea. All are issues related to the polar regions, according to Kløver. – It is tragic and dramatic. We believe that all research that can contribute to one or another development is very important. Geir Kløver is director of the Fram museum, and author of many books related to polar expeditions. Photo: Tore Linvollen / news He believes that Jannicke and the other astronauts’ research can contribute to creating a picture that provides greater understanding. – And imagine seeing the northern lights from above, it’s absolutely fantastic! Mikkelsen lives in Longyearbyen on Svalbard, where she is a freelancer for news, among other things. Published 13.09.2024, at 20.43 Updated 13.09.2024, at 21.07
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Jannicke Mikkelsen will film the northern lights in space – news Troms and Finnmark
