Story at a glance
- The mission is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2022.
- The Geometric Energy Corporation is teaming up with SpaceX to send a roughly 90-pound satellite to “obtain lunar-spatial intelligence from sensors and cameras on-board with integrated communications and computational systems.”
- The cryptocurrency, which has been pushed by Musk, has increased more than 26,000 percent over the last six months.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX will be launching a satellite called DOGE-1 on a mission paid for entirely with the meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
Musk on Sunday announced his private rocket company will now accept Dogecoin as payment and called it the first crypto and first meme in space.
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“SpaceX launching satellite Doge-1 to the moon next year – Mission paid for in Doge – 1st crypto in space – 1st meme in space,” Musk said in a tweet.
The Geometric Energy Corporation, which is funding the mission, is teaming up with SpaceX to send a roughly 90-pound satellite on a Falcon 9 moon mission to “obtain lunar-spatial intelligence from sensors and cameras on-board with integrated communications and computational systems.”
“This mission will demonstrate the application of cryptocurrency beyond Earth orbit and set the foundation for interplanetary commerce,” SpaceX Vice President of Commercial Sales Tom Ochinero said in a news release.
“We’re excited to launch DOGE-1 to the Moon!”
The mission is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2022.
Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency much like bitcoin that enables peer-to-peer transactions across a decentralized network. However, Dogecoin was started as a joke in 2013 at a time when the cryptocurrency boom was in its infancy.
The cryptocurrency trades under the symbol “DOGE” and features the face of a shiba inu from the viral meme as its logo.
The cryptocurrency has been pushed by Musk and has increased more than 26,000 percent over the last six months. Musk has been credited by many for the surge in Dogecoin’s value, which has increased from a fraction of a cent to up to 70 cents.
The value of Dogecoin saw a significant dip Sunday shortly after Musk called the cryptocurrency a “hustle” during his appearance on “Saturday Night Live.”
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