THE POLARIS DAWN MISSION HAS RETURNED TO EARTH
The Polaris Dawn commercial human spaceflight mission, supported by IWC Schaffhausen, successfully returned to Earth on September 15. Four space-themed chronographs, which traveled to space with the crew, will be auctioned in December by Christie’s to raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®.
IWC Schaffhausen is proud to lend its support to the Polaris Dawn commercial spaceflight mission, the first of three spaceflights planned as part of the Polaris Program. Seeking to demonstrate important capabilities that will help further human space exploration to the moon, Mars and beyond, the program kicked off with Polaris Dawn and will culminate with the first human spaceflight on SpaceX’s Starship. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched the Polaris Dawn mission to low-Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:23 a.m. ET on September 10, 2024. Dragon and the Polaris Dawn crew safely returned to Earth at 3:36 a.m. ET on September 15, 2024, splashing down off the coast of Florida.
THE MISSION GOALS
During their five-day mission to orbit, the crew reached all major mission goals and set new milestones in commercial space exploration.
ORBIT AT 1,408.1 KILOMETERS
The Polaris Dawn crew reached an altitude of 1408.1 kilometers, the farthest humans have traveled into space since the Apollo 17 mission to the lunar surface in 1972.
FIRST COMMERCIAL SPACEWALK
All four astronauts performed the first commercial spacewalk, with Mission Commander Jared Isaacman and Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis separately exiting the Dragon spacecraft to test the mobility of SpaceX’s new extravehicular activity (EVA) spacesuit. Mission Pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet and Mission Specialist & Medical Officer Anna Menon remained inside the spacecraft in support roles during the spacewalk. This extravehicular activity marked the first time in history that four astronauts were concurrently exposed to the vacuum of space.
TESTED STARLINK-BASED COMMUNICATIONS
The crew successfully used Starlink laser-based communications in space to communicate with SpaceX mission control and send an inspiring message of unity and resilience back to Earth, with astronaut Sarah Gillis playing the violin in space.
HEALTH IMPACT RESEARCH
While in orbit, the crew conducted scientific research designed to advance both human health on Earth and our understanding of human health during future long-duration spaceflights.
THE POLARIS PROGRAM
The Polaris Program aims to rapidly advance human spaceflight capabilities by demonstrating new technologies and conducting extensive scientific research to expand our knowledge of humans adapting, living, and working in space.
The Polaris Program is led by Jared Isaacman, the US entrepreneur and pilot mission commander of the Inspiration4 mission in 2021. Alongside Jared “Rook” Isaacman, who served as the mission’s commander, the Polaris Dawn crew consisted of retired United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Scott “Kidd” Poteet and SpaceX Lead Space Operations Engineers Sarah “Cooper” Gillis and Anna “Walker” Menon.
THE CAUSE
In addition to conducting research in space, Polaris Dawn aims to raise funds and awareness for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® — a leading research institution and hospital treating childhood cancer and other pediatric diseases. IWC Schaffhausen and Christie’s are proud to partner with the Polaris Program to support this goal.
THE WATCHES
IWC Schaffhausen has designed and donated four space-themed chronographs, which traveled to space with the crew and have now returned to Earth.
The Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Edition “Polaris Dawn” features a 44.5-millimeter case made of white ceramic. Its dark blue lacquered dial is printed with countless stars. Stop times of up to 12 hours are displayed in two totalizers at 9 o’clock and 12 o’clock. The small seconds display at 6 o’clock features the Polaris Dawn mission patch. On the titanium case back, each of the four chronographs features an engraving with the name of one of the four Polaris Dawn crew members.
White ceramic is emblematic of IWC’s materials expertise. It is created in a complex process in which zirconium oxide is mixed with other metallic oxides, shaped to a “green body”, machined and then sintered at extremely high temperatures in a kiln. Ceramic is extremely scratch-resistant and remarkably light – making it the perfect material for a watch that has to withstand the extreme conditions during space missions.
THE AUCTION
Place your bid on a watch that has flown higher in Earth’s orbit than any other in the history of timekeeping. After having traveled to space with the Polaris Dawn crew and returning to Earth, the four chronographs will soon be auctioned to raise funds for the lifesaving work of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®. The auction will be conducted by Christie’s and is scheduled to take place in December 2024.