Inspiration4

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Context

Entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX announced that ‘Inspiration4’, its first all-civilian, non-governmental spaceflight, is on track for launch on September 15.

Details

The mission involves circling the Earth for three days, and then splashing down into the Atlantic Ocean.
Inspiration4 will orbit the Earth at 575km, higher than the International Space Station (408km) and the Hubble space telescope (547km).

Significance

In this journey data will be collected on ECG (electrocardiograph) activity, movement, sleep, heart rate and rhythm, blood oxygen saturation, cabin noise and light intensity, which will help in assessing behavioural and cognitive changes over the journey.
The travelers will undergo balance and prescription tests just before and after their journey to assess their response to the change in gravity.
Immune system function will also be monitored by collecting blood.
Their organ systems will also be monitored by an AI-powered ultrasound device.
Thus, the journey will present an opportunity for collecting large amounts of health data that will aid in planning future crewed space missions.