The Ax-1 mission, organised by Axiom Space and made up entirely of private astronauts, is on its way home.
One of the biggest players in the launch of large-scale space missions is the space company Axiom Space, which recently became the first to launch a mission of private astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).The spacecraft, named Endeavour, arrived at the ISS on 9 April, carrying four private astronauts with astronaut: former astronaut Michael López-Alegría, US entrepreneur Larry Connor, Canadian businessman Mark Pathy and Israeli entrepreneur Eytan Stribble (the latter three were in space for the first time). The tourists paid a hefty sum of around $55 million each to spend eight days on the ISS, where they also took part in various scientific experiments.
The Ax-1, made up of space tourists. headed home, the space capsule of the private mission carrying the members separated from the ISS. "Docking complete. The Ax-1 crew begins its journey home" - wrote Axiom Space on Twitter.
Undocking completed. The #Ax1 crew begins their journey home. pic.twitter.com/N0e5Bxo6D4
- Axiom Space (@Axiom_Space) April 25, 2022
The members of the Ax-1 mission did not just go on holiday, they also carried out a number of scientific experiments in space, including testing a helmets, which is able to interpret certain brain signals. The device, called brain.space, detects which areas of the cerebral cortex are active, such as whether the user is concentrating or excited. Although the technology itself is much less accurate than magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), it can provide information about the brain using a much smaller and cheaper device.
