For over half a century, scientists suspected a quiet but powerful electric field might be influencing Earth’s upper atmosphere. Now, thanks to a daring rocket mission near the North Pole, the mystery is finally solved.

Four private astronauts were sent into orbit on March 31 aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft as part of the historic Fram2 mission, the first human spaceflight over the Earth’s polar regions. Notably, none of the crew members have been to space before.