#WeirdNews: Musk's SpaceX is launching a Dogecoin-funded satellite to moon
After his Saturday Night Live gig was live-streamed on YouTube, a first for the show, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk plans to actually send Dogecoin to the moon. SpaceX has inked a deal with Canadian engineering firm Geometric Energy Corporation to launch the DOGE-1 cubesat, entirely paid for in Doge. The launch is slated for the first quarter of 2022. Here are more details.
Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency that started as a joke
Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and Ethereum that also relies on blockchain to maintain transaction records. Dogecoin is popularly called Doge. It was created in 2013 as a joke after the Doge meme. Today, its $80 billion market cap exceeds that of Dell, which is a Fortune 500 tech firm. Doge's high-profile backers include rapper Snoop Dogg, Mark Cuban, and Elon Musk.
DOGE-1 will be part of rideshare payload on lunar mission
Geometric Energy Corporation said that the 40-kilogram DOGE-1 cubesat will be part of a rideshare payload onboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The company emphasized that DOGE-1 is the first-ever commercial lunar payload in history to be paid for entirely with Doge. The satellite will be developed in collaboration with POINTBLANK LLC, Mirmir Solutions, and Iteration Syndicate to collect lunar-spatial intelligence using sensors and cameras.
Description of the companies developing DOGE-1 is vague at best
POINTBLANK LLC is an Oregon-based company founded in 2018 that specializes in rapid prototyping and disruptive R&D. Meanwhile, Mirmir Solutions touts itself to be the world's first decentralized blockchain service provider, whereas Iteration Syndicate appears to be an experimental cryptocurrency token.
Mission will set foundation for interplanetary commerce: Geometric Energy Corporation
Geometric Energy Corporation's VP of commercial sales Tom Ochinero said that this mission will demonstrate the application of cryptocurrency and "set the foundation for interplanetary commerce". Although it's unlikely that humans will be transacting with extraterrestrials anytime soon, the company clarified that Doge has been chosen as the unit of account for all its future lunar business transactions with SpaceX.
Vague details suggest DOGE-1 is just a publicity stunt
In a related news, SpaceX was recently awarded a $2.9 billion contract for the Artemis lunar mission paid for by taxpayers' dollars. Geometric Energy Corporation said that additional payload space will be allocated to digital art on "space plaques" Given the vague details of DOGE-1's intended function and the companies developing it, we think it's just a publicity stunt for Dogecoin.
