Chun Wang, co-founder of the F2Pool bitcoin mining operation, has been selected as mission commander for SpaceX's first commercial human spaceflight to Mars. The two-year mission is targeted for launch in 2026.
Wang, a Chinese-born Maltese-Kittitian investor whose mining pool controls 11.3 percent of global bitcoin hashrate, will lead the crew. His personal bitcoin holdings exceed $300 million. The itinerary includes a circumlunar flyby, a high-altitude Mars flyby and a complex return to Earth using the Starship V3 vehicle.