SpaceX Names F2Pool Co-Founder Chun Wang Commander for Mars Flyby

SpaceX has named Chun Wang, the co-founder of the cryptocurrency mining pool F2Pool, as the commander for its first private, crewed interplanetary mission, a two-year flyby of Mars. The announcement was made public in late May.

The mission is planned to launch beyond the Earth-Moon system, execute a high-altitude flyby of Mars, and return to Earth. No specific launch date has been announced, though one source indicated a target window of 2026. Before the Mars mission, Wang is scheduled to participate in a separate, week-long commercial Starship flight around the Moon, joining Dennis and Akiko Tito on a trajectory that will pass within approximately 200 kilometers of the lunar surface.

Wang brings prior spaceflight experience to the role. In 2025, he privately funded and commanded the Fram2 mission, which used a SpaceX Crew Dragon to complete the first human spaceflight to orbit over Earth's poles. During that mission, his crew conducted experiments including the first X-ray imaging performed in microgravity.

The forthcoming Mars mission is designed to test SpaceX's next-generation Starship V3 architecture and its deep-space operational capabilities, such as navigation, radiation...