--- title: "SpaceX Announces Plans to Put Billionaire on First Rocket to Mars" description: "The company announced that crypto billionaire Chun Wang has been tapped to lead humanity's first interplanetary human flight." date: "2026-05-22" modified: "2026-05-22" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/space/spacex-billionaire-rocket-mars" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Mars" - "Off-World" - "Space" - "SpaceX" --- # SpaceX Announces Plans to Put Billionaire on First Rocket to Mars ![A man wearing glasses, a light blue cap, and a black long-sleeve shirt is sitting and using a laptop with the Earth visible through a large window behind him, suggesting he is in a spacecraft or space station.]() *SpaceX via X* The future of space travel is pay to play, but that might not be a bad thing. During the final 15 minutes counting down to SpaceX's aborted Starship V3 mission on Thursday, Elon Musk's space company revealed a fascinating tidbit: the man who's going to lead SpaceX's first crewed mission to Mars. Spotted [by *Gizmodo*](), broadcasters on the company's live feed announced that crypto billionaire Chun Wang has been tapped to lead humanity's first interplanetary human flight. At first glance, Wang might seem like an unlikely candidate for such a monumental task. A software developer who dropped out of college, Wang made his fortune by developing one of China's first and most successful Bitcoin mining pools — striking it rich just before the Chinese government shut all of that crypto stuff down [in 2021](). However, his resume includes another space flight, SpaceX's April 2025 Fram2 mission, which he personally funded in order to secure a spot as mission leader. Though the media [made a spectacle]() of that brief trip, Christopher Combs, associate dean of research at the University of Texas' Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design [described it as]() a "notch above a gimmick, but not exactly a groundbreaking milestone." The Mars trip, which would take up to two years, would be a vastly greater challenge on the billionaire's mind and body — though Wang seems pretty gung-ho about it. "I can stare at the map view on airplanes all the way from takeoff through landing, so I think I'm going to enjoy the trip," Wang told viewers on Thursday. It's unknown who else will be making the Mars trip alongside Wang, and whether or not he's funding it. Either way, the prospect that a billionaire could be willfully catapulting himself around [140 million miles]() from Earth left some critics buzzing on social media. "This is the first time I have been 100 percent behind a SpaceX decision," journalist [David Perry wrote]() on Bluesky. "I hope they launch really soon." Writer Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl [joked that]() it's a "great start." "But," she concluded, "I think all the crypto billionaires should go, it's important and will bring America hope." **More on SpaceX:** *[SpaceX Stock May Actually Be a Horrendous Investment]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()