Bitcoin Investor Funds Historic Polar Space Flight
A bitcoin investor, Chun Wang, and three polar explorers launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center Monday night on the first human spaceflight to traverse Earth's North and South poles. The SpaceX Falcon rocket headed southward over the Atlantic, putting the crew on a flight path never before taken in 64 years of human spaceflight.
Wang, a Chinese-born entrepreneur now holding Maltese citizenship, did not disclose how much he paid SpaceX for the 3½-day polar journey. The initial leg from Florida to the South Pole took approximately 30 minutes. Their fully automated capsule will circle the globe every 90 minutes, including 46 minutes to travel between poles.
The crew is orbiting at an altitude of about 270 miles (440 kilometers). Wang, who has previously visited the polar regions in person, stated that this mission is about "pushing boundaries, sharing knowledge." He invited three guests to join him:
- Norwegian filmmaker Jannicke Mikkelsen, the first Norwegian bound for space
- German robotics researcher Rabea Rogge
- Australian polar guide Eric Philips
The team plans to conduct 24 experiments during their journey, including taking the first human X-rays in space. They brought extra cameras to document their trip, which they named Fram2 after the Norwegian polar research ship from over a century ago.
Before this mission, no space traveler had gone beyond 65 degrees north and south latitude, just short of the Arctic and Antarctic circles. This limit was set by Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova in 1963, the first woman in space.
Geir Klover, director of Oslo's Fram Museum, hopes the flight will increase awareness about climate change and melting polar ice caps. He provided the crew with a small piece of the original polar ship's wooden deck, bearing the signature of Oscar Wisting, who with Roald Amundsen became the first explorers to reach both poles in the early 1900s.
Wang first proposed the polar flight idea to SpaceX in 2023. He has been tracking his flights since 2002, having traveled on planes, helicopters, and hot air balloons while visiting more than half of the world's countries. He arranged for this launch to be his 1,000th flight.
The mission comes at a time when Wang's investment sector is seeing renewed interest from unexpected quarters. President Trump recently announced plans to add Bitcoin and four other cryptocurrencies to U.S. strategic reserves, potentially transforming the financial landscape that helped make Wang's space adventure possible. This development has revitalized cryptocurrency markets since its March 2025 announcement.
