Chun Wang, co-founder of F2Pool, will command SpaceX’s inaugural crewed Mars flight, with no launch date set yet.
SpaceX has selected Chun Wang, co-founder of Bitcoin mining pool F2Pool, to command the first private crewed mission to Mars. The announcement was made during a livestream of a scrubbed Starship V3 launch attempt, though no launch date was provided. Starship, SpaceX’s reusable heavy-lift rocket, has yet to reach orbit or carry astronauts to space.
Wang previously funded and led Fram2, a three-day polar orbit mission aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon in 2023, becoming one of the first civilians to fly over Earth’s poles. Before the Mars mission, he will join a separate Starship flight around the moon. The mission marks a step toward SpaceX’s long-term goal of establishing a human presence on Mars.
The announcement underscores SpaceX’s progress in private spaceflight, though technical hurdles remain for Starship’s orbital and crewed capabilities. Wang’s involvement highlights the intersection of cryptocurrency and space exploration industries.