It appears that the Inspiration4 crew keeps busy in orbit, performing ultrasounds, ukulele jam sessions, and creating space art.
The private astronauts are currently orbiting Earth with a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. They made a video call to Earth Friday, Sept. 17, to share their incredible view, give a live tour and discuss some of their extracurricular activities.
During the live broadcast, Jared Isaacman (a billionaire entrepreneur) said that "we've been doing great things here," and that Inspiration4 was a success story.
The Inspiration4 crew went to space not only for the views, but also for science experiments, art, and jamming on a ukulele.
Video: Inspiration4's orbital tour of the SpaceX Crew Dragon
SpaceX's Inspiration4 private, all-civilian orbital mission is live updated
The Inspiration4 crew made a video call to Earth Sept. 17, 2021. SpaceX, Image Credit
As Hayley Arceneaux (mission's chief medical officer) said, "The views are out of the world," as she floated through the Crew Dragon's dome-shaped cupola window. Arceneaux also demonstrated an ultrasound device, which the crew uses to study the effects of microgravity on fluids shifting in the human body.
Arceneaux stated that crew members have been collecting blood samples and performing cognitive tests. Arceneaux works as a physician assistant at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee. The Inspiration4 mission is designed to raise $200 million for the hospital.
Image 1 of 4. Chris Sembroski took a ukelele to space. (Image credit SpaceX) Sian Proctor displays the art she created while orbiting Earth during SpaceX's Inspiration4 mission. Image 3 of 4 Sian proctor shows off a bag filled with metallic markers she brought to space for creating art in orbit. Image 4 of 4 Hayley Archeneaux holds the ultrasound device that SpaceX's Inspiration4 crew used to conduct research in space. SpaceX image credit
Sian Proctor was the mission's pilot, and also an Afrofuturism artist. She spent time with metallic markers. She said that she had enjoyed "learning how to use space markers," before showing her drawing of the Dragon capsule being carried off Earth by a dragon.
Chris Sembroski (the Inspiration 4 mission specialist) has been playing his ukelele, which he took with him to space. "We're trying to open space for more people, just like Si did, so we're going be bringing more humanities with us...art and music," Sembroski stated before playing a tune on his ukelele.
The Inspiration4 crew had made several calls to Earth before making the public broadcast on Friday. According to an official tweet by the Inspiration4 mission account, crew members also talked with actor Tom Cruise. A video conference was also held with St. Jude children, and St. Jude released the video on Friday.
Isaacman, Proctor, Sembroski, and Arceneaux will end their three-day space mission with a splashdown off Florida's coast. According to SpaceX, they will splash down on Saturday, September 18th at 7:06 PM EDT (2306 GMT). Space.com will live stream the crew's return.
Send Hanneke Weitering an email at hweitering@space.com. Follow her @hannekescience. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @Spacedotcom
