After adjusting to microgravity—and getting through a few bouts of vomiting—the astronauts got to work in polar orbit.

The first astronauts to enter a polar orbit chose the obvious animal to serve as their zero-g indicator: a plush polar bear. The doll also has an emperor penguin embroidered on its chest.

Hello, Antarctica. Unlike previously anticipated, from 460 km above, it is only pure white, no human activity is visible.”

SpaceX launched four people into space Monday evening on a first-ever human mission to orbit Earth's polar regions. After liftoff from the U.S., a typical crewed launch flies to the east or northeast.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off on Monday night, sending four amateur astronauts on an unprecedented journey around Earth’s poles. The mission is traveling where no crew has gone before, and SpaceX just revealed the first views of the planet’s chilly polar regions from above.

Cape Canaveral, Fla. — A bitcoin investor who bought a SpaceX flight for himself and three polar explorers blasted off Monday night on the first rocket ride to carry people over the North and South poles.