Elon Musk’s space exploration firm SpaceX says it will launch a mission to the moon that will be paid for using Dogecoin (DOGE).
In a tweet, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO say that a satellite dubbed DOGE-1 will be sent to the moon in 2022.
“SpaceX launching satellite Doge-1 to the moon next year
– Mission paid for in Doge
– 1st crypto in space
– 1st meme in space
To the mooooonnn!!”
The mission, conducted in conjunction with Canadian firm Geometric Energy Corporation, will involve flying a cube satellite weighing 40 kilograms aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
Per Geometric Energy Corporation, the purpose of the DOGE-1 mission will be to “obtain lunar-spatial intelligence” using “sensors and cameras on-board with integrated communications and computational systems.”
The Canadian firm adds that the choice of Dogecoin as the unit of account for the lunar mission is due to its strengths as a cryptocurrency.
“DOGE has proven to be a fast, reliable, and cryptographically secure digital currency that operates when traditional banks cannot and is sophisticated enough to finance a commercial moon mission in full.”
At time of writing, Dogecoin is trading at $0.48 after hitting a record high of around $0.73 over the weekend. The weekend rally came ahead of Musk appearing on Saturday Night Live (SNL). DOGE, however, plummeted to as low as $0.43 after Musk’s appearance.
The billionaire tech entrepreneur has a history of advocating for the meme crypto asset. In December, Musk sent Dogecoin on a 20% rally by simply tweeting: “One word: Doge.”
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