F2Pool Co-founder Joins SpaceX's 2-Year Mars Mission

Chun Wang, co-founder of bitcoin mining pool operator F2Pool, will participate in SpaceX's first human spaceflight mission to Mars, according to SpaceX's Thursday release. Wang will board the Starship spacecraft on a two-year mission that will explore outside the Earth-Moon system and conduct a Mars fly-by before returning to Earth. Before the Mars mission, Wang will join SpaceX's first commercial human spaceflight around the Moon on Starship, scheduled to last one week. SpaceX aims to expand space tourism to the Moon and Mars through these missions, building on its track record of safely flying 78 crew members to and from space across 20 missions since 2020, which included seven commercial and private astronaut missions.

Mission Timeline and Details

Wang has already completed Fram2—SpaceX's first crewed polar orbit mission—as mission commander in 2025. The Thursday release did not include specific launch dates for Wang's lunar or Mars missions.

Wang's Statement

"After we come back from Mars, we will have the opportunity to take some real photos, especially of Mars," Wang said in an attached video. "Mars will no longer be a distant place. It will become reality."

F2Pool Background

Wang founded F2Pool in 2013 with Shixing Mao. The company became one of the world's largest bitcoin mining pool operators and currently holds an 11.5% market share, according to data from Hashrate Index.