SpaceX is taking a satellite into space paid for by Dogecoin

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“To the moon!” is a meme phrase often heard around r/WallStreetBets or popular meme cryptocurrencies, but now it’s literally associated with going to space.

SpaceX is sending a satellite to the moon in 2022 on behalf of another company, which isn’t that out of the ordinary for a space flight company. What’s unorthodox is that the funding for this mission was paid in Dogecoin, the favored memecoin of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

The mission is in partnership with Geometric Energy Corp, which is in the business of manufacturing, logistics, and intellectual property. The appropriately-named DOGE-1 to the Moon mission will be taking a 40kg CubeSat into the Moon’s orbit to “obtain lunar-spatial intelligence” from its onboard sensors and cameras.

READ MORE: Dogecoin co-creator says Elon Musk is a grifter

This won’t be a one-off either, as SpaceX and Geometric are going to use DOGE as the funding source for all future collaborative missions to the Moon and Mars. You might not think cryptocurrency has any real-world uses, but if it can send payloads to the Moon, maybe it’s time to rethink that view.

DOGE might have been started in 2013 as a literal joke, but that hasn’t stopped the coin from gathering value, and it’s up 20,000-percent from its initial pricing. Yes, it’s being boosted by whales and celebrities, but so is pretty much every crypto coin.

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Editors’ Recommendations:

• Venmo will now let you buy and sell crypto like Bitcoin
• PayPal will now let you buy anything with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin
• Elon Musk thinks crypto is cool and that Dogecoin could be the future, but don’t be stupid about it
• RIP: Dogecoin’s co-creator sold all of his crypto years before the meme coin exploded in value

Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.