The Canadian engineering firm, Geometric Energy Corporation (G.E.C) has agreed with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to launch its DOGE-1 Cubesat to the Moon in the first quarter of 2022. The company has also accepted the meme-inspired cryptocurrency, Dogecoin, as its full payment for the Moon mission.
Geometric Energy Corporation made this announcement on Sunday, May 9th, 2021, which SpaceX’s communications team confirmed in an email to reporters. However, the mission’s financial value is yet to be revealed.
A report by Engadget revealed that the mission will launch aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. “The 88-pound cubesat will collect lunar-spatial intelligence through a combination of cameras and sensors,” according to the company.
CNBC also confirmed that the DOGE-1 will fly a 40 kilogram cube satellite as a payload on a Falcon 9 rocket, with Geometric Energy Corporation saying its payload “will obtain lunar-spatial intelligence from sensors and cameras on-board with integrated communications and computational systems.”
Tom Ochinero, SpaceX’s Vice President of commercial sales made a statement saying that DOGE-1 “will demonstrate the application of cryptocurrency beyond Earth orbit and set the foundation for interplanetary commerce.”
Ochinero shared his excitement about the lunar mission and the launch of DOGE-1 into space.
What’s in it for Elon Musk, the self-proclaimed “Dogefather”
Musk who previously made the announcement on Twitter said his company, SpaceX, plans to put a literal Dogecoin on the literal moon.
Further report by CNBC confirmed that the DOGE-1 mission comes after Musk, the self-proclaimed “Dogefather,” made his debut as host of “Saturday Night Live.” The price of dogecoin plunged during his appearance, falling below 50 cents, despite his references to the cryptocurrency.
For SpaceX, the announcement also comes on the day the company set a new record for its Falcon 9 series of rockets. After launching another batch of Starlink satellites into orbit, SpaceX landed the Falcon 9 rocket’s booster for a 10th time — a benchmark Musk has previously described as key in the company’s progress of reusing its rockets.
Elon told some reporters in May 2018 that the Falcon 9 is capable of doing 10 or more flights with no refurbishment between each flight.
“We believe that the [Falcon 9] boosters are capable of on the order of at least 100 flights before being retired. Maybe more.”
Following this announcement, the meme-inspired cryptocurrency, Dogecoin, rose to 55 cents ealier today, from a one-week low of around 47 cents on Sunday, May 9th 2021.
The DOGE-1 is a cubesat meant to acquire “lunar-spatial intelligence” using onboard cameras and sensors. It’s being sent and paid for by a company named Geometric Energy Corporation, and it’ll be flown up on a Falcon 9 rocket in the first quarter of 2022.
Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that started out as a goofy meme and is now a somewhat more valuable goofy meme, has been on the rise lately, with enough trading around spikes in the currency to cause crashes of the trading app Robinhood. Elon Musk is the coin’s highest profile supporter, tweeting Dogecoin memes, referring to himself as the “Dogefather,” and hyping it up (sort of) on Saturday Night Live. Investors like to talk about sending Dogecoin’s value “to the Moon,” thus, we’re getting this silly stunt about sending a satellite named DOGE-1 paid to Musk’s company in Dogecoin to the Moon.
