Chun Wang, co-founder of the bitcoin mining pool f2pool and a well-known figure in the bitcoin community, is set to lead SpaceX’s first human spaceflight mission to explore Earth’s polar regions from orbit. Wang, who began mining bitcoin in 2011, said he has been eagerly preparing for the mission for the past two and a half years and has been involved in every aspect of the mission, from the initial proposal and planning to the trajectory design and crew selection.
“The Fram2 spacecraft is named in honor of the ship that first helped explorers reach Earth’s Arctic and Antarctic regions, and will be piloted by Chun Wang, a Maltese entrepreneur and adventurer,” according to SpaceX. It was announced“Wang aims to use the mission to highlight the crew’s spirit of exploration, instill a sense of wonder and curiosity in the general public, and highlight how technology can help push the boundaries of Earth exploration through mission research.”
Fram2 will be the first human space mission to fly over and explore Earth’s polar regions from orbit. Learn more about @framonotes The mission here → https://t.co/3InB5ybsIx pic.twitter.com/rZ2PCw0GlX
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 12, 2024
“This mission represents a new chapter in space exploration,” Wang said. “I have read many science fiction stories about the first human missions to Mars, usually led by NASA or a fictional government. Rarely would anyone dare to imagine that such a mission could be carried out privately. But now, I increasingly believe that we will one day reach Mars — and it may be a person or a company, not a country, that gets there.”
Allow me to quote Steve Jobs’ original announcement of the iPhone in 2007: “This is a day I’ve been waiting for for two and a half years. Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything.”
Yes I was looking forward to this assignment…
— Chun (@satofishi) August 13, 2024
The mission involves an international team of adventurers, including Norwegian Jannik Mikkelsen, Australian Erik Phillips and German Rabbi Ruge. Over the course of three to five days, the crew will observe the polar regions from the Dragon’s dome at an altitude of between 425 and 450 kilometers. They will study phenomena such as aurora borealis and unusual light emissions, known as STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement), and conduct a variety of studies to better understand the effects of spaceflight on the human body, and gain insights into space physics and atmospheric science.