Dogecoin has made a giant leap by financing SpaceX’s mission to the moon as Elon Musk’s astronautics company has officially accepted the memecoin as payment for its rescheduled “DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon”.
This move was confirmed by Geometric Energy Corporation (GEC) CEO, Samuel Reid, who shared the news on X.
He detailed that the payment to SpaceX by GEC was made entirely in $DOGE to secure a new slot for the DOGE-1 CubeSat lunar mission.
This development follows the initial delay of the mission, which was first set to launch aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket in 2022. The postponement was attributed to the satellite not being ready in time for its intended launch window.
The journey of DOGE-1
SpaceX’s decision to launch the “DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon” was first revealed in 2021.
The company’s CEO, Elon Musk, who is a vocal Dogecoin supporter, highlighted the mission as a historic event. It would not only be the first cryptocurrency in space but also the first meme to orbit the moon.
The mission’s delay, however, did not dampen the spirits of those involved. Reid clarified that the new agreement with SpaceX includes a rebooking fee, paid in Dogecoin. It places the DOGE-1 satellite on an open manifest, indicating a flexible launch schedule post the Intuitive Machines IM-1 mission.
However, the same depends on when the satellite is shipped to Maverick Space in the US from Exobotics UK.
Reid’s update also provided a candid look into the challenges faced by the mission, specifically mentioning the incomplete requirements for the satellite’s radio system as the main reason for the delay.
“That doesn’t mean that DOGE-1 is not launching or that it’s not happening. DOGE-1 was trying to make it on IM-1 and almost did”, clarified Reid during a recent live chat.
No effect on DOGE’s price
Reid’s assurance that the mission is still on track, despite the hurdles, is a significant message to the community.
However, despite this positive development, Dogecoin ($DOGE) continued to trade in the red at the time of press. It is down by over 3% weekly, changing hands for $0.078 on exchanges.
Its technical indicators gave mixed signals as well. While the Awesome Oscillator emanated green histograms on its chart, the Moving Average Convergence/Divergence (MACD) seemed to be ready for a bearish crossover of lines.
In other news, Dogecoin has seen its fastest increase in the number of holders in its nearly ten-year history, with approximately 413,800 new wallets added in just the past two weeks. This significant uptick was highlighted in a post by Santiment on 6 February.
The data, as illustrated by the chart from the blockchain analytics and cryptocurrency metrics firm, indicates that since 22 January, there has been a notable rise in Dogecoin wallets. The total number of addresses holding any amount of DOGE has reached nearly 414,000, marking a 7.2% increase.
